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China's nationalism occasionally bubbles over into xenophobia. Scores of foreign missionaries were slaughtered in the 1900 anti-West Boxer Rebellion. Chinese youth beat up foreign diplomats during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. "This is a country that could be turned xenophobic very quickly, because people in school are still taught about the Opium Wars and all the unfairness that has happened in the past," said McGregor, who called the rising nationalism "worrisome." "China needs to be connected to the world, and foreigners have had goodwill towards China. Why would you want to squander that? It's very short-sighted and could be quite damaging," he said. Some foreign actions help fuel Chinese suspicions, such as when the U.S. Embassy in Beijing provided shelter to Chen Guangcheng, the blind activist who fled abusive house arrest in his rural village. "Morally correct or not, the U.S. was actually engaged in an incredibly provocative act," said Bill Bishop, a Beijing-based Internet entrepreneur. Many Chinese also resent what they consider lenient treatment for visitors when they misbehave. Last week, a Russian cellist with a Beijing symphony was caught on a widely circulated video hurling vulgarities at a Chinese woman on a train who complained about his feet on her chair. A security official is seen telling passengers to let him be because "he's a musician." "Many Chinese feel like foreigners have been given too much leeway in this kind of situation," said Dali Yang, a political scientist at University of Chicago Center in Beijing. The cellist was later fired by the symphony, state media reported Tuesday.
Meanwhile, CCTV has distanced itself from Yang Rui's comments, calling them "personal actions." He issued a statement Monday via state media explaining that the "foreign trash" in his microblog post were people like the British man in the alleged sexual assault and the Russian cellist. "I want to separate them from the silent majority in the expat communities who obey and respect our culture and society," Yang Rui said. "My post on May 16th is a wake-up call," he wrote. "Western or Chinese, no one should be above the law."
[Associated
Press;
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