This is the second in a series of posts that we’ve translated from the popular online writer Nie Shaorui (聂少聂) who is based in East Africa and regularly posts provocative columns about daily life for the Chinese diaspora in Africa. The purpose of these translations is to provide an insight into the lively discourse that takes place in Chinese on social media channels like WeChat that are largely out of sight for most non-Chinese. The following translation has been lightly edited for clarity. The original version of the post is available on Nie’s WeChat page.

Due to Africa’s position at the lowest level of the global economy, Chinese immigrants in Africa are also at the bottom of the foreign contempt hierarchy. I am always worried about comments online about Africa because the internet is a place where a casual remark can have a huge impact. Many offhand remarks carry discriminatory implications in an international context, and they can easily be exploited. The most obvious example is the discourse that opposes Chinese women marrying Africans. This vulgar racial discrimination can be easily exploited by others.