Viewpoints Chinese Community Protest March, Manchester | Chinese Community Protest March, Manchester |
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CHINESE COMMUNITY PROTEST MARCH, MANCHESTER,
On Portland Street, the procession was temporarily halted when someone threw coffee from a sixth-floor window into the peaceful demonstrators. Two white males, 20-30s, looked down at the protesters and jeered. The protesters pointed accusing fingers at the men and cries of 'Come down you fucker' and 'City bastard come down here' were heard. The police went up to investigate, accompanied by cheers from the crowd, but no arrests were made at the time. Despite these interruptions, the protest ended outside the town hall in Albert Square, with more chanting and speeches. Later that day crowds of white men were roaming the streets in packs, drunk and shouting 'En-ger-la-and!' Some passers-by react: 'It's St. George's Day, not Chinky march!' (male, white) 'This is ridiculous, they shouldn't be allowed in anyway.' (female, white, to daughter) 'Let's face it, they do eat cats and dogs, don't they?' (male, black) This type of reaction shows how far the Chinese community has to go in combatting racist stereotypes and misonceptions. And now these stereotypes are beginning to hurt. One protester (who wanted to remain anonymous) told me that business in the Chinese communities of Manchester and Liverpool has fallen away 20 - 25%. March Co-ordinator Raymond Wong told me that the protest was intended to reinforce the message to the public and local council that the Chinese community are angry about the current 'scapegoating' taking place in the media. Apparently, even though Nick Brown has denied that M.A.F.F. was the source of the rumour regarding infected meat, he has started an inquiry into the importation of meat products from China. |
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To
the chant of 'No more slander, no more lies.' The Manchester march got
moving at 2:30 on Charlotte Street and progressed, via Portland Street,
to the town hall.| < Prev | Next > |
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