Just as CCTV’s use of blackface to depict Africans in the annual Spring Gala TV show sparked an immediate response by those outside of China, there’s was a near-immediate reaction on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media networks. 

But the majority of commentators weren’t offended by the racial stereotypes but rather by the fact that the African dance routine was featured so prominently in the program. “It feels like Africa is already a province of my country (感觉非洲大陆已经是我国的一个省了) complained Weibo-user Huangshi who echoed the disappointment of a lot of people who felt that a culturally (and ethnically) Chinese performance should have opened the show.