Four people admit guilt in landmark Chinese hate speech case in South Africa

Racist and hateful statements made on social media after TV news show about Chinese demand for donkey skins

The Chinese Association demands unconditional apologies and other penalties against those accused

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Supporters of The Chinese Association at the Equality Court in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Facebook/Proudly Chinese SA

Chris Erasmusin Cape Town, South Africa

Published: 8:20am, 9 Dec 2019Updated: 9:23pm, 9 Dec 2019

Four of 12 people in South Africa accused of hate speech against local Chinese people have admitted guilt and agreed to hundreds of hours of community service as punishment – even before the case has ended.

The matter stems from anti-Chinese comments made on social media in January 2017 after a video went viral showing the slaughter of donkeys for their skins, allegedly to be illegally exported for the Chinese medicinal market.

Among the most offending comments were that Chinese were “vile, barbaric people” who were “scum of the Earth”.

The Chinese Association (TCA) took the matter to South Africa’s Equality Court, which was set up to protect people’s rights in the post-apartheid era.

The TCA was outraged at apparent calls for the “genocide” of Chinese people. One social media post suggested: “I think we should start killing their (Chinese) children for a (hangover cure)”.

The court, which heard the case in Johannesburg, ordered the four individuals last week to post an unconditional apology to Chinese South Africans on their social media accounts, to be pinned there for six months.