Have some questions for our Asian members!

[dachinesedude]

Originally Posted by Kaiten

To be honest with you guys I never understood the Chinese hate between HKrs and mainlanders and what-not. Why all the hate? It seems that everyone looks down on mainlanders but in all honesty, from an outside perspective, there is no distinction. Is it related back to history? Excuse my ignorance but I've always never understood.

I'm cantonese and i hate mainlanders with a passion, here's some of my reasons:

- they spit, pick their noses, piss and take off their shoes and socks in public, thats just fucking disgusting
- sneeze without covering up
- think they're right when they're clearly wrong (car accidents are big ones)
- loud and obnoxious
- no manners whatsoever (words like please and thank you dont process in their brains)

you can say these things can appear in other races too, or that its their 'culture' (fucked up beliefs if thats the case), i dont give, ive seen it with my own eyes

ive personally never seen people that satisfy all these other than mainlanders

oh and ask HK people why they dont go to their own Disneyland

[RacePace]

Well, if Hong Kong was never ruled by the British, people from Hong Kong would probably have the same mannerisms to be honest.

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by dachinesedude

I'm cantonese and i hate mainlanders with a passion, here's some of my reasons:

- they spit, pick their noses, piss and take off their shoes and socks in public, thats just fucking disgusting
- sneeze without covering up
- think they're right when they're clearly wrong (car accidents are big ones)
- loud and obnoxious
- no manners whatsoever (words like please and thank you dont process in their brains)

you can say these things can appear in other races too, or that its their 'culture' (fucked up beliefs if thats the case), i dont give, ive seen it with my own eyes

ive personally never seen people that satisfy all these other than mainlanders

oh and ask HK people why they dont go to their own Disneyland

Agreed with all of the above. I guess in China, that's what they're used to. But here in North America, we line up to wait our turns, some of us have manners, etc.

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by Illuminate

Well, if Hong Kong was never ruled by the British, people from Hong Kong would probably have the same mannerisms to be honest.

Your point being...? In an alternate reality, maybe up is down and down is up!!! Imagine how fucked up that would be!

[unit]

Originally Posted by dachinesedude

I'm cantonese and i hate mainlanders with a passion, here's some of my reasons:

- they spit, pick their noses, piss and take off their shoes and socks in public, thats just fucking disgusting
- sneeze without covering up
- think they're right when they're clearly wrong (car accidents are big ones)
- loud and obnoxious
- no manners whatsoever (words like please and thank you dont process in their brains)

you can say these things can appear in other races too, or that its their 'culture' (fucked up beliefs if thats the case), i dont give, ive seen it with my own eyes

ive personally never seen people that satisfy all these other than mainlanders

oh and ask HK people why they dont go to their own Disneyland

all of that is so damn true.

[v.Rossi]

how about chu zao?(sp?) does anyone here speak it?

i really don't want to be the only one =\

[Greenstoner]

Originally Posted by dachinesedude

I'm cantonese and i hate mainlanders with a passion, here's some of my reasons:

- they spit, pick their noses, piss and take off their shoes and socks in public, thats just fucking disgusting
- sneeze without covering up
- think they're right when they're clearly wrong (car accidents are big ones)
- loud and obnoxious
- no manners whatsoever (words like please and thank you dont process in their brains)

you can say these things can appear in other races too, or that its their 'culture' (fucked up beliefs if thats the case), i dont give, ive seen it with my own eyes

ive personally never seen people that satisfy all these other than mainlanders

oh and ask HK people why they dont go to their own Disneyland

Honestly, the bold part applies to a lot of HKer too. Im from Taiwan, im not defending China or Hong Kong.. But seeing the comments like this pisses me off. Why are we bashing each other when we all from the same root ? You can dislike someone but "hate" is a bit extreme to descirbe. I felt pretty embarrassed being a Chinese when hearing comments like this.

[gilly]

its not just mainlanders but more and more koreans are moving over here to GVRD.

[Kaiten]

^ Interesting. Thanks for the explanations. Feel free to chime in on your reasoning Captain Picard I'd like to hear if your point of view is any different.

I can relate to how I wouldn't want to be considered an American, being Canadian, Skinny Pup, but it's not like I think all Americans are uncivilized. I think I have a little better understanding of the situation though. I also see what Greenstoner means as well; I'm Japanese in origin but I feel connected to all Asians. I grew up in Kelowna where there weren't enough Asians to be categorizing and alienating. I had friends from Taiwan and China and Korea and I felt we could relate to each other just being Asian, which is why I didn't understand the distinguishing and the hate towards mainlanders.

I will admit I've been annoyed with people who hack and spit on the street randomly but I never thought about where it was that they were from. They could very well have been from mainland China but to be honest I would never know.

I suppose this all has to do with the large number of Asians here in the lower mainland, and how some of them ARE rude, and that people don't want to be associated with them. Is that the root to all the hate? Maybe I would think the same if I was raised in Van, or HK or wherever.

** Also, sorry to thread jack ***

[Ikkaku]

Like a few people said, if you look further back a few generations, all Chinese are the same. It's because of the different style of education that provides the noticable difference between mainlanders, Hong Kong'ers and Taiwanese.

Perhaps the rudeness comes from the fact that they have to be rude and pushy to survive in China. If you're a weak person in character, you will get pushed around and will get nowhere. A lot of the mainlanders you see here are the business people or the ones who are successful. There is a lot competition in China, and there is also a lot of deprivation. Remember, not everybody has a chance to get to higher levels of education over there. It really is a dog-eat-dog world.

With that said though, certain groups of mainlanders are getting much more rich than those from HK. It's a fact that all HK'er must accept.

[Girl]

Originally Posted by ToyotaPowah

Hey guys, I have a couple of questions for the Asian members of RS (that's roughly 95% of our member base, isn't it? :P). I searched a bit but didn't find anything very useful.

First off, are there more Cantonese speakers in the GVA than Mandarin? From what I've read it seems there are more Cantonese speakers, although the number of Mandarin speakers is on the rise.

Also, from what I've read, Cantonese is mostly spoken in Hong Kong and some parts of Southern China whereas Mandarin is spoken in the rest of China. Is this true?
Is the influx of Mainland Chinese immigrants the reason why the number of Mandarin speakers in Vancouver is on the rise?

I was also wondering if Cantonese and Mandarin are similar in some respects. For example, can someone who is fluent in Cantonese understand and converse with someone who is fluent in Mandarin?

Thanks in advance for anyone that can help in answering these questions!

1. That's more than a COUPLE of questions darling. :P


Responses:

1. Yes, over the years there have been more Cantonese speakers as compared to Mandarin speakers in the GVRD.

2. Cantonese WAS spoken mainly in southern china and Hong Kong. Cantonese is a dialect predominantly spoken in GuanDong a southern province in China. GuanDong Province has been one of the most prosperous provinces in China in the past 2 decades and is responsible for over 10% of the country's economic gain (mainly due to the fact that it's on the coast for major trading). As well Hong Kong is a main hub/port/finance station in Asia and with HK reverting back to China in 97, HK was a gateways to the rest of the world. Of course there's a major shift and mandarin is now more predominant as China gains in power.

3. The increase in Mandarin speakers in the GVRD is due to 2 main factors. Yes, one of them would be the influx of immigrants from China as well as the contributing populace from Taiwan. The other factor is that China is one of the largest emerging markets in world economy. Most businesses look towards there. Even looking at Tourism trends in Vancouver, they targeted the Mexicans 3-4 years ago and now you might find more Chinese brochures from Tourism Vancouver or the Canadian Tourism Commission.

4. Like most languages, Cantonese and Mandarin have the same basis. It really depends on the person. Although most Cantonese speakers in the GVRD would most likely be able to converse with Mandarin speakers from Taiwan more so than somebody from China due to the fact that most Vancouverites are exposed to Taiwan Mandarin over the past decade in terms of media exposure and businesses.

Mandarin in China varies because of the many dialects that exist in such a vast country. You can have 3 people speakign the same language and have it all sound very very different depending on the location. Think accents, Aussie, Irish, American Southern, Canadian Western, etc.

I've worked for an Australian company and I never knew what the CEO was saying when he came to our office.


Now I hope that helps your homework.

[CP.AR]

Originally Posted by Kaiten

^ Interesting. Thanks for the explanations. Feel free to chime in on your reasoning Captain Picard I'd like to hear if your point of view is any different.

I can relate to how I wouldn't want to be considered an American, being Canadian, Skinny Pup, but it's not like I think all Americans are uncivilized. I think I have a little better understanding of the situation though. I also see what Greenstoner means as well; I'm Japanese in origin but I feel connected to all Asians. I grew up in Kelowna where there weren't enough Asians to be categorizing and alienating. I had friends from Taiwan and China and Korea and I felt we could relate to each other just being Asian, which is why I didn't understand the distinguishing and the hate towards mainlanders.

I will admit I've been annoyed with people who hack and spit on the street randomly but I never thought about where it was that they were from. They could very well have been from mainland China but to be honest I would never know.

I suppose this all has to do with the large number of Asians here in the lower mainland, and how some of them ARE rude, and that people don't want to be associated with them. Is that the root to all the hate? Maybe I would think the same if I was raised in Van, or HK or wherever.

** Also, sorry to thread jack ***

I edited my post on the previous page, it now has my viewpoint/perspective on this

[ToyotaPowah]

Thanks for all the responses guys & gal. The insight should prove valuable in determining how to spend some marketing dollars at my company.

[Presto]

Originally Posted by Greenstoner

Honestly, the bold part applies to a lot of HKer too. Im from Taiwan, im not defending China or Hong Kong.. But seeing the comments like this pisses me off. Why are we bashing each other when we all from the same root ? You can dislike someone but "hate" is a bit extreme to descirbe. I felt pretty embarrassed being a Chinese when hearing comments like this.

I went to Taiwan this past summer, and they all hate mainlanders too. The only people that like mainlanders are the ones taking their money. Oh wait, they just like the money. They still hate mainlanders. Taiwan rocks, though. People are really nice there.

[drunkrussian]

yo man, if u ever need to know the exact % of the russian population in vancouver, please let me know. Like the chinese, the russians keep such a list of demographics handy at all times.

[Greenstoner]

Originally Posted by Presto

I went to Taiwan this past summer, and they all hate mainlanders too. The only people that like mainlanders are the ones taking their money. Oh wait, they just like the money. They still hate mainlanders. Taiwan rocks, though. People are really nice there.

So ? I never said anything about taiwanese NOT hating the mainlander...

my point is its a shame that Chinese dislike each other to a point it becomes HATE.

[CP.AR]

Well the thing between Taiwan and Mainland China is a completely different story...

[VancouverG88]

Excellent insights Captain Picard. I recommend everyone who has not done so already to go back one page and read his updated post.

[yellowpower]

Most cantonese speakers are less conservative And more open to the ways of the white people, where as mandarin speakers only socialiaze withing their own mandarin circle and other mandarin speakers. Those mandarin people are almost always from taiwan and hold deep pride i being twanger -,- thinkin they r the shit.
Posted via RS Mobile

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by VancouverG88

Excellent insights Captain Picard. I recommend everyone who has not done so already to go back one page and read his updated post.

Thanks to your post, I went back to read Captain Picard's post. Well said, Picard!

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by Illuminate

Well, if Hong Kong was never ruled by the British, people from Hong Kong would probably have the same mannerisms to be honest.

agreed..and taiwan would still be a backwards ass place if they were never ruled by japan for 60 years.

Originally Posted by Ikkaku

Perhaps the rudeness comes from the fact that they have to be rude and pushy to survive in China. If you're a weak person in character, you will get pushed around and will get nowhere. A lot of the mainlanders you see here are the business people or the ones who are successful. There is a lot competition in China, and there is also a lot of deprivation. Remember, not everybody has a chance to get to higher levels of education over there. It really is a dog-eat-dog world.

good point.