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Q: Why are Beijing Taxi drivers not giving a foreigner rides only to stop for a local person 10m away?
Is this all CIVILIZED CHAOYANG (BEIJING) all about? This wrong I think considering the position China is in the world now. Worse still this is the CAPITAL of the country
11 years 15 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - Beijing
It's always been like this, but it's gotten a lot worse after the olympics.
It's a mix of racism, being an asshole, and sometimes because they automatically jump to the conclusion that since you're a foreigner you must be going to sanlitun/wudaokou, and since they're not heading in that direction, they won't bother asking.
But it's mostly racism. Blind, retarded hate from a fear emanated by their own ignorance.
Well, alot of people would say racism. I actually don't think it is. I think it's because they assume you don't speak Chinese and it'll be a huge pain in the ass to decipher where you want to go.
It has always been like that, and it is not limited to Beijing either.
mikael84:
I never experienced this in Shanghai, Suzhou or Nanjing.
But in Beijing it was always a hazzle to get a taxi because of this.
Where else did you experience it?
wildcat77:
It is common in cities in the north (Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin are good examples )where there is bitter cold during winter, and fewer options for transportation. It is more prevalent during rash hours.
not only they do it to a foreigner but also they do it to a Chinese,
It happens.all we can do is,be patient.
Increased fines for cabbies in Beijing:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-01/17/content_16135034.htm
Fines for ignoring passengers among others....
it happened to me allot in Beijing and shanghai, but i live in small city that taxi more than ppl
Rhetoric like “Blind, retarded hate from a fear emanated by their own ignorance” smacks of racism in itself. Who knows why they didn't/don't stop except the drivers themselves. The question itself is unanswerable unless you ask the taxi drivers themselves
I am a foreigner in Beijing. I have lived here for years. I have never had a driver do that to me. Ever.
I think Mr_Spoon put it very well... "But it's mostly racism. Blind, retarded hate from a fear emanated by their own ignorance."
I'm in a tier 3/4 city, but it's got a lot of Koreans so perhaps a bit more foreign-friendly? Here I have no trouble getting cabs, the only time I was denied service was because the route was too far. About half the drivers ask me the usual questions and half saying nothing at all- they're more chatty when it's earlier in the afternoon, and 100% ask as many questions as possible when I'm with friends/students who can translate for them.
TO WHOMEVER WROTE THE FOLLOWING: "Rhetoric like “Blind, retarded hate from a fear emanated by their own ignorance” smacks of racism in itself. Who knows why they didn't/don't stop except the drivers themselves. The question itself is unanswerable unless you ask the taxi drivers themselves." I tried to comment directly to this posting but the systems wouldn't let me. In any case, to whomever wrote this comment: WELL SAID . . . speculation about the taxi drivers motives is just that, speculation. I'm sure there are a variety of reason and perhaps dislike for expats is part of that -- if that is the case, the responsibility also lies with us expats. But as to the issue of racism . . . well, the concept of Racism is very poorly understood here in China and although there is certainly a great deal of racially motivated behavior it seems a bit presumptuous to label as "racist" anyone who has no knowledge of the concept "Racism." On the other hand, expats don't have that excuse, as most of us certainly do know what Racism" is.'Isms' are ideas and they have to be taught. Racially motivated behavior can also be taught and I suspect there is a lot of that happening in China, through propaganda, through the media, for political and personal reasons . . . So, it might be fair to label as "Racist" those who promote racially motivated behavior. Those who act with a racial bias because they were taught that are not really guilty of Racism. Now, perhaps this seems ironic to many but, I would think we might, more correctly, call that second group "victims of Racism" . . . and as such they deserve our sympathy and our efforts to better inform them.
Sorry, when I said, above, that "Racism" has to be taught and that is different then teaching behavior that demonstrates racial bias, I mean that the concept of Racism, that Racism is a bad thing, must be taught. This sort of teaching is rare in China . . . where as there is a lot of teaching which promotes racially bias behavior. People in the second category, those taught to act out of racial bias deserve our sympathy because they have not been taught that this is Racism.
lot of them do now know any english , so they dont even bother to try to see if you speak chinese or you have a hotel card
I have asked that to taxi drivers a few times (through Chinese friends, I dont speak mandarin)
The main reasons that they give are:
1 - Normally the foreigners dont speak Chinese and it is difficult to understand where they want to go
2- Some foreigners blame the taxi drivers if the trip takes too long and think that the taxi driver is trying to rip them off
3- Some foreigners refuse to pay the additional tax for fuel because they dont see it in the taximeter
4- At night the taxi drivers prefer to go to office complexes and pick up people who has stayed working late instead of going to sanlitun or similar areas because they have had bad experiences with drunken foreigners
