The Global Times
April 1, 2010
Honkies for hire
By Zhai Qi
… [excerpt]…
“The duty is just to be white,” said Bill Marcus, suburban New Yorker. He was hired by a Hong Kong architectural design firm Cotik as “business development director” for a day in Shanghai. He didn’t do much more than read a PowerPoint presentation scripted by the real director and made about 2,500 yuan.
There’s a special market for white, English-speaking people, Marcus said. Some companies hire on skin color and not ability. He cited a North European woman hired by a Chinese company who “just has to sit at a desk”.
“They gave her a title of ‘assistant director’, but she just had to sit there and attend meetings, so that there appeared to be some international presence in the company,” he said in a phone interview. “She goes to work every day.”
… [excerpt]…
Link to full Global Times article: Honkies for hire
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Photo: Extras in The Painted Veil waiting for their scene outside the Moller Villa, Shanghai, September, 2005. Credit: Werner Kirgis