Chinese say Canada game clearly ‘racist’

A Canadian mobile game sparked outrage among Chinese at home and abroad, saying the game is racist and insults Chinese people.

The game, Dirty Chinese Restaurant, is a simulation where players can control a character, Wong Fu, in operating the title’s restaurant.

The US-based newspaper China Press says that the game allows players to insult costumers, cause trouble for competitors and make the food from trashy substances.

“Putting out such a racist game is ridiculous. This game implied that Chinese restaurants are dirty and serve customers rubbish… it all shows a stereotype of the Chinese people,” said a reader of the newspaper.

However, the game’s developer argued that the game is not “an accurate representation of Chinese culture,” in a reply sent to the Global Times on Wednesday local time.

The game portrays older images of Chinese and is obviously inappropriate and prejudiced as well, said Zhang Yiwu, a Peking University professor.

Overseas Chinese pay a lot of attention to cultural diversity. And while some Chinese restaurants may have problems, this misrepresentation of Chinese is not at all acceptable. The West should learn to respect cultural diversity and not touch a sore spot among overseas Chinese in a game design, Zhang said.