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Why Hong Kong should stick with ‘gweilo’ – ignore the thought police
As an Australian of Scottish, Irish and English ancestry, and with pale skin, I definitely qualify as a gweilo (“British worker files discrimination lawsuit after being fired from Hong Kong company and called ‘gweilo’ by staff”, September 5).
When in Hong Kong, I am often referred to as such. I take no offence whatsoever, regardless of the word’s origins and any derogatory use it may be put to now. Indeed, I refer to myself and to my fellow Westerners as gweilos when conversing with my Chinese friends in Hong Kong (“Is ‘gweilo’ really a racist word? Hong Kong just can’t decide”, September 8).
The many meanings of ‘ghost’ from the Cantonese term ‘gweilo’
Political correctness has gone mad in my own country and in other Western nations. Please don’t let it happen in China. “Ghost person” describes us Westerners very nicely. So, just ignore the thought police and stick with gweilo.
Neil Murray, Jordan
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