The Missing Chink

THE MISSING CHINK

This title has provoked a reaction which reveals the existence of an impassioned community that is too often silent. The word "Chink" is a racist, pejorative term. It is not a pretty word. My use of this word reflects my anger at the expectations that surround it and was intended to be ironic in order to flush out a topic that needs to be discussed. Had I not chosen that title, the situation would have been ignored. I deliberately chose this title (having discussed the implications thoroughly with both the production company and the broadcaster, Channel 4) because I wanted to start a much-needed and long-awaited debate.

As the Artistic Director of the award-winning British-Chinese theatre company, Mu-Lan Arts Ltd, I am well aware of the pejorative nature of this word. I grew up a Chinese boy in Yorkshire in the 70s and 80s, and have personally experienced the hurt and helplessness expressed by some of the complainants by the use of this word.

The Chinese community is invisible in Britain. This is my starting point. Why is this the case? My work with Mu-Lan over the past 6 years has been exclusively aimed at trying to find answers to this question and exploring its close neighbour - trying to define our identity. Mu-Lan has produced the country's first Chinese Shakespeare production, the first Chinese Youth theatre workshops, the first Chinese comedy troupe, the first Chinese new-writing classes, the first Chinese New Writing festival, a string of hit professional shows dealing with these very issues - yet nothing seems to have changed. In fact, I was shocked when in 2002, in the very week our production of our new play Sun is Shining was chosen to be featured in Time Out's Critics' Choice selection - we were informed by the Arts Council of England we had been cut from its revenue funding stream.

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET YOUR ATTENTION??

Though there may be some merit in a "Niggaz With Attitude" style attempt to reclaim the word, this is not the reason I decided to use it. The word Chink in the title MISSING CHINK is deliberately set up to be demolished by the performances and script content of the show. Expectations are confounded. Were the performers acting in a demeaning "colonialist" style and using cheap stereotypical gags, written by a white man, then the complainants would be right to assert that this is a racist programme. This is clearly not the case. The overall message of the series is this: What positive depictions have British Chinese had in the mainstream culture in the past 10 years?

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET YOUR ATTENTION???

The absence of a generally accepted collective noun for us only adds to our woes. Unlike our Trans-Atlantic cousins, we do not own the term, "Asian". We are told by those in the know that "Oriental" is considered Eurocentric. The latest I have heard (without irony) is 'PAPR' (pronounced "Papper", I suppose)- People of the Asia-Pacific Rim! We are invisible, dis-empowered and without even a name to call our own. The absence of representation in UK mainstream culture means that as a consequence we are effectively being written off as 'chinks', anyway. The programme title ironically highlights and makes visible the way others are defining us by default. We are defined by everyone else but ourselves. The Chinese are invisible and I don't like it. The time has come to shake people up.

HAVE WE GOT YOUR ATTENTION??!!

To those members of the community who are not persuaded I would point out that the title could have been different, but who then would have tuned in to watch? The fact remains that this is the first ever British-Chinese written programme on British television as well as the first programme to deal with this subject. C4's The Slot is a tiny foot in the door with a meagre budget. Bear in mind it is a tough task to make a political statement in that small time without appearing worthy and ranting. This approach would only, in my opinion, have further perpetuated the stereotype that I am so desperate to smash, and would have alienated us further. We therefore needed to make an impact and to do so, you have got to be prepared to make waves. I am sorry if I have inadvertently hurt people's feelings as that was never the intention; quite the opposite in fact.

There is real cause for anger, but that must surely lie with the status quo as it remains. The producers of "Banzai!!", for example, although not choosing a racist title, have here in the UK gotten away with racism within the content. But in the US? I think not! The exploitation of the Chinese in the UK and the absence of us in the media is the responsibility of those in power, none of whom are Chinese.

Lets try and show the world that we possess the capacity to engage with the subtleties of this debate.