中国是外国人的围城：进来，还是出去？ / Foreigners in China: Rushing In, or Rushing Out?

中国是外国人的围城：进来，还是出去？

这几个月，外国人的来来往往在中国引发了异乎寻常的公开讨论。

今年夏初，中国政府对非法在华滞留或打工的外国人进行了高调打击。

遗憾的是，这轮打击恰好与几起外国人在京参与刑事犯罪案件的时间相重合。对此，网络和微博都给予了广泛的报道，并由此激起了对“好”外国人和坏外国人的讨论。

一些常驻于此的外国人对中国新出现的排外潮表示担忧，这也许和外国投资遇冷有关。

但我的一些中国朋友对这两点都不大赞同，他们普遍认为外国人和外国企业在中国享受优厚待遇的时间已经太长了。

火上浇油的是，就连外国鱼也被卷进了风口浪尖。广西柳江岸边的两名居民遭食人鲳咬伤，推论为随意放生宠物所致。虽然犯错的宠物主人并不一定是外国人，但这鱼（原产于南美）是从国外来的却明白无误，而且它满口獠牙，凶猛无比。

为了应对食人鲳恐慌，当地政府紧急下令进行大规模捕捞。据称，渔民用十公里长的网捕获了大批鱼类，但可惜里面只有本地鱼，没有外国鱼，而食人鲳更是一条也没有。环保专家称官方的反应无异于滥杀。也许在上游的什么地方，狡猾的食人鲳正呲牙暗笑躲过了一劫呢。

中国对待外来事物和外国人的态度似乎总是在喜欢和不喜欢、舒服和不舒服、崇拜和蔑视的循环中摇摆往复。虽然开放已经30年，但情况依旧。摇摆不定似乎在中国现代史中扎了根。

迅速发展的全球化让天涯化作比邻，导致围绕在外来事物和外国人（甚至包括动植物种类）周边的不确定性加剧了。在带来更近一层的——哪怕只是表层式的——相互认知和互动同时，也放纵了矛盾和竞争形势下的泄愤和对抗。这种现象并非中国所独有，只是可能发生的历史背景有所不同。

2012年7月，几位长期驻华的著名外籍人士撰文表示要离开中国，并对理由进行了说明。无独有偶，最近我和一位长期住在中国的外国人聊天，他也表示有此打算。这些人都有各自的原因，但健康问题——主要是空气污染和食品安全——是大家共同担心的因素。

我也知道有些以往定居在海外的华人已经回国，只不过他们没有写文章公开罢了。

最近《南华早报》头版头条称：“逃离欧元重灾区，外籍人员大批涌港”。报道有些虎头蛇尾，描述了大批年轻人如何逃离欧元重灾区，涌入香港寻找就业机会。

2011年，香港共向7个欧盟国家签发了6,100个工作签证，比2010年增加了10%。在人口超过700万、全球失业率最低的香港，很难看出这则新闻缘何能够登上头版头条。

近年来大批欧洲人涌入香港和大陆，原因是本国失业率超高，特别是30岁以下的年轻人失业情况更为严重。这些年轻人虽然不会说中文，但他们在中国从事入门级工作的薪水却远远高出本国水平。

1970年代中，我初到中国，在街头遇到的普通中国人都不太敢和外国人说话。事实上，由于当年的政治气氛，外国人被视为“坏人”。当年的外国人被看作像苍蝇和蚊子一样，见缝就钻。

后来，外国人成了被盲目崇拜的对象，包括他们的财富、行动自由、专业知识、教育、护照、蓝眼睛、金头发等等。在这个年代，外国人就像是现代版的罗宾汉。

慢慢地，现实浮出水面：不是每个外国人都聪明、友好、彬彬有礼、有钱、成功，或者天生一头金发。有些人甚至个子还很矮！外国人也不像原来想象的那么聪明或者那么笨。

所以要回答外国人正抢着来中国还是急于从中国离开这个问题，答案是：都有。有人来，也有人走。可能在未来相当长的一段时间里都会这样，也许会有几个世纪。我们最好对潮流别太上心，也不要对潮流的影响反应过度。

我们还是要重在加倍努力，把眼光放长远，超越对地球上其他邻居的成见和表面印象。同时，在由于环境或食品安全问题导致了——无论是外籍还是本国——人才流失的时候，一定要及时认真关注一下这些问题。

Foreigners in China: Rushing In, or Rushing Out?

The comings and goings of foreigners have been the subject of more public discourse than usual in recent months here in China.

Earlier this summer, there was a highly publicized official crackdown on foreigners in China who were working illegally or had overstayed their visas.

Unfortunately, overlapping the time frame of this crackdown, there were several incidents of foreigners in Beijing engaged in aggressive criminal behavior in public. This generated extensive online and weibo coverage, which triggered discussion about the merits of "decent" foreigners versus bad ones.

Some resident foreigners have expressed concern that a new wave of anti-foreign sentiment seems to be sweeping China, perhaps in parallel to the cooling in ardor for foreign investment.

Feedback from some of my Chinese friends on both counts is not too sympathetic, because of the widespread perception that foreigners and foreign business in China enjoyed too many advantages for too long.

Meanwhile, to further complicate the debate, even foreign fish swam into the controversy. Along the banks of Guangxi Province's Liu River, two residents were badly bitten by piranhas, thought to be present as a result of being released by pet owners. The offending pet owners may not have been foreigners, but the fish clearly were (originating in South America); and ferocious ones with big teeth at that.

In response to the piranha panic, local authorities urgently ordered a large-scale fish-hunt. Fisherman using nets reportedly 10 kilometers long caught large quantities of fish, but natives rather than foreigners. Nary a piranha. Environmentalists labeled the official response as dangerous overkill. Perhaps somewhere upriver, some wily piranhas were engaged in a toothy chuckle over their successful escape from the purge.

Attitudes towards foreign things and foreign people in China seem to vacillate in cyclical waves of favor and disfavor, comfort and discomfort, worship and disdain. Despite 30 years of having the door open, that is still the case. This ambivalence seems to be rooted in modern Chinese history.

The uncertainty surrounding foreign things and people (and even animal and plant species) has been exacerbated by the impact of rapid globalization, which has quickly moved once distant neighbors into much closer proximity. While permitting a closer level of mutual awareness and interaction -- at least superficially -- it also unleashes resentment and rivalry in situations of conflict or competition. This phenomenon is far from unique to China, although it fits into a different historical context here.

In July, 2012, several well-known long-term foreign residents published articles announcing their decision to leave China, including explanations of the reasons why. They are not alone, judging by recent conversations I've had with other long-term foreign residents. All have their personal reasons for the decision. However, health issues -- topped by air pollution and food safety -- were cited by all.

I also know Chinese people formerly resident abroad who have come back to China, although none of them have written articles announcing their decision.

A South China Morning Post front page headline recently exclaimed: "Expats Rush In to Escape Euro Woes." The rather anticlimactic story which followed described how an influx of young people escaping Europe's economic woes is flooding into Hong Kong looking for jobs.

More than 6, 100 Hong Kong work visas were issued to nationals of seven European countries in 2011, up about 10% over 2010. In a city of more than seven million people, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, it's hard to see how this justifies being a top headline news story.

There has been an influx of Europeans to Hong Kong and China in recent years, due to sky-high rates of unemployment there, especially among those younger than age 30. These young people can apparently earn significantly higher wages for entry level jobs in China than they would in their home countries, even though most of them do not speak Chinese.

In the mid-1970s when I first visited China, ordinary Chinese people I'd pass on the street were afraid to talk to foreigners. In effect, due to the political atmosphere of the time, foreigners were perceived as "bad. " In those days, foreigners were like flies and mosquitoes who'd slipped in through a slightly opened window.

Later, foreigners became the objects of blind admiration, for their wealth, their mobility, their expertise, their education, their passports, their blue eyes and blond hair, etc. In this era, foreigners were like modern-day Robin Hood figures.

Gradually, reality sank in: not all foreigners are smart, nice, respectable, wealthy, successful, or natural blondes. And some are even short people! Foreigners are neither as smart nor as dumb as we used to think.

So, as to whether foreigners are rushing into or out of China, the answer is: both. Some are coming, and some are going away. This will probably be the case for a long time to come, as in, possibly, the next few centuries. Let's not get overly excited about the trend lines, or over-react about the implications.

A better focus would be to redouble our efforts to see beyond stereotypes and superficial impressions of our neighbors around the globe. At the same time, when you are losing talented people --whether foreigners or locals -- because of environmental or food safety issues, it's time to pay even more serious attention to these issues as well.