I'm dismayed, scared, and frustrated. My boyfriend and I are a mixed-race Canadian couple in Kunming to visit my family, and we were just assaulted last night.
On the way home with my aunt (姨妈) and boyfriend, Liam, we were stalked from a major intersection to the courtyard of my grandmother's (外婆) apartment complex and assaulted. He hit my boyfriend in the head, and hit my aunt and I when we tried to defend him. I'm thankful he was unarmed.
We didn't know the assailant; we only realized he was following us when we saw traffic cam footage at the police station.
Right now, the theory is that it was race-related. My boyfriend is blonde and fair-skinned, while I was born in Kunming. We were holding hands as we crossed Baita Road. And the assailant primarily attacked Liam - he didn't hit my aunt and I until we pulled him off Liam.
Does anyone know of anything like this happening in Yunnan or Kunming? Are there any aggrievances surrounding foreigners or mixed-race couples in this area?
Also, we've reported this to local police but I'm having trouble getting ahold of the Canadian embassy.
The theory is that it was race-related? Who's theory is that and why do you think that? If I was the assailant I would also attack the stronger only male first also. Did he take anything from you?
There was another forum user who had a few stories of being harassed and had fights because he was white and his gf Chinese. It can happen in Kunming to mixed race couples, but like other violent crime, it's extremely rare. Sorry to hear about your encounter. Not sure how it works for Canadian consulates, but there should be an emergency phone contact. Try another consulate in another city if you can't get hold of Beijing, maybe like Guangzhou.
What happened after you pulled him off? Did he run away? Did he say anything?
@magsonfire
While it may have been race related - this is not normal behavior by any standard in any country in the world. The guy is simply mentally unbalanced as was looking for someone to unload his hate and frustration upon. That is the nature of a bully.
Just a few weeks ago there was a couple of lovely long-term foreigners (English/American) set upon by a load of Chinese guys and beaten quite badly. This was in a restaurant. Chairs and hotpot oil were the choice of weapons.
There are such racial attitudes around, but they rarely go this far. The guy who attacked was almost certainly a nutwing exception to the usual tolerance. Suggest you remain aware - shit happens - but don't go around being afraid.
If you were strong enough to pull him off your boyfriend you should have all battered him.
@vicar: That's horrible advice. Oftentimes in China, when the police respond to a fight, they don't care much about who started it. You could end up responsible for the hospital bills and restitution of your assailant, and may even find yourself in legal trouble.
Fighting back too hard might also attract random strangers to jump in on the now "offending" foreigner.
