“His eyes are so small, awfully small... his head is swaying like a ping pong ball bouncing around”
A French nursery rhyme has been criticised for racism towards Chinese people.
Titled ‘Zhang, My Little Chinese’, the nursery rhyme was reportedly sung and taught at a school in Paris suburb Aubervilliers according to SCMP.
An Asian parent had posted a video of the racist song on Facebook towards the end of December last year but it is not clear who made the clip.
Translated lyrics include “Zhang squats down to eat rice”, “his eyes are so small, awfully small”, and “his head is swaying like a ping pong ball bouncing around”.
Internet users in China have since taken to Weibo to express their outrage at the racist song. “We have zero tolerance for things related to national dignity,” one person wrote.
“If they continue to teach and spread such hatred and discrimination, the children will not grow up with healthy minds,” another said.
Dominique Sopo, president of SOS Racisme – the French group that fights racism and discrimination – also shared the post, writing “a staggering rhyme from school. Full of clichés, with all that it implies, it reduces the Chinese (and therefore, in the minds of many, people of Asian Origin) with a few summary features, with a little physical reference”.