bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Joseph Lam

The Asian diaspora in the West often rejoices when Eurasian faces find success in the entertainment industry.
Henry Golding, known for his role in Crazy Rich Asians, and Andrew Koji, star of HBO’s Bruce Lee-inspired series Warrior, have both seen their lead roles celebrated as victories for diversity.
And while most, if not all, Eurasian celebrities recognise the role they play in increasing representation, the warm welcome they receive after finding success hasn’t always been a constant throughout their lives.
For some, growing up with parents of different nationalities has provided a window into multiple cultures and communities. But for others, there are stories of cultural clashes, identity crises and, sometimes, isolation as they attempted to fit in with their Asian peers while growing up.


When the South China Morning Post caught up with Koji earlier this year, the British-Japanese actor explained that his Eurasian identity was something he’d long struggled with.
“I ran away from it for a long time. I think a lot of Eurasian people have, because they feel like they don’t belong in either culture,” he says.
Where a Eurasian in Hong Kong likes to eat Asian food
Koji, who also stars alongside Brad Pitt in upcoming action thriller Bullet Train, said the features of Eurasian actors, whether they were more Eurocentric or Asian, could limit the kind of roles they were offered.
“This industry that we’re in unfortunately caters towards looks a lot, and I guess I’m lucky or blessed that I pass as Asian enough for certain things and not Asian enough for others,” he says.
“It is a tougher thing to negotiate because it’s true: you don’t fit in any box. You don’t necessarily fit in the Asian box or the Caucasian box. I’ve noticed this with many of my peers – if they are mixed race, [being typecast] is something they are very conscious of.”


When asked about the issue of diversity, Koji says: “Sometimes I might receive a script and it’s a bit stereotypical … I’ve had to say we don’t talk like that or those people don’t talk like this.”
One of Hong Kong’s best-known international models has had experiences with being typecast.
“It’s really interesting because I started my career in Asia and I was always told, ‘You’re too Western’,” says model turned muay thai fighter Mia Kang.


The 32-year-old, now based in the US, is not only Eurasian but also a third-culture kid – she is the youngest child of a British father and Korean mother who met at an international school in Taiwan. “When I moved over here [to the US], they didn’t say anything other than ‘You’re Asian’.”
For Kang, having her background and culture questioned has been a constant throughout her life. “Since I can recall, I always felt different,” she says.
Being Eurasian in a school of mostly Hong Kong Chinese or European children led to bullying and isolation, she said. It also, in part, led to an eating disorder.


Kang wrote about her lonely childhood, bullying and addictive tendencies in her book, Knockout, published last October. She writes that when things were tough, she turned to food.
“However fleeting, each bite was a little boost of dopamine. Eating gave me emotional comfort – so much so that I became reliant on it,” she wrote.
The bullying continued up until about the age of 13 when she became a model after her disorder resulted in her dangerously losing weight. Overnight she went from being treated differently to being “cool”.
Uncomfortable truths about HK’s pre-war Eurasian community
“It’s super surreal,” she says. “They then treated me like I was invincible, but basically the only difference between the two different lives that I lived was that I lost a whole lot of weight.”
To this day, Kang is regularly forced to defend her ethnic make-up. “When people ask ‘Where are you from?, I always say Hong Kong. They always respond, ‘But you don’t look Chinese and don’t speak Chinese’. This makes me wonder: what’s the criteria for being from somewhere?” she asks.
“I consider myself to be an Asian woman and I identify strongly with my Asian background, and that doesn’t depend on what others see.”


For Indonesian actor Arifin Putra, 33, star of HBO series Halfwords, about a parallel world of mythical creatures in Jakarta, growing up Eurasian provided a lot of opportunities. But there have also been a few wake-up calls along the way.
Born in Germany, Putra and his family moved to Jakarta when he was three years old. He grew up speaking German at home and later attended a German international school.
“My father’s logic was that since we are already in Indonesia, ‘I want to keep some German heritage’,” he says.
‘Who am I?’ Issues cross-cultural teens face and how to deal with them
His mother, who spoke to him in Indonesian, was well versed in German. “She’s so fluent so she speaks English with a German accent,” he says. It’s an upbringing he describes as “bit unorthodox”.
“This way you do live in a certain bubble, so to speak,” he explains. “I pretty much had only international friends.” Putra’s career as an actor kicked off at the age of 13 when he attended an event for extras with his sister.
“Once I started acting the other students were kind of fascinated with it but they also saw it as a weird thing,” he says. “That was until I did some work with MTV. It was still a big thing back then.”
I can assume that … as a Eurasian in Western countries … you’re seen as something different
Indonesian-German actor Arifin Putra
Acting helped break Putra outside of his international bubble, he says. “I thought my Indonesian was good, but only later I found out it was actually quite bad,” he says.
“The crew had a field day with me. I didn’t even realise they had fun with me. For me it was baptism by fire – that was my Indonesian school.”
Being Eurasian has opened the door to jobs in Singapore, Brunei and Hong Kong, Putra says. “These jobs came along because I don’t exactly fit one geography. I guess I have a pan-Asian look,” he says.
Ultimately, he says, Indonesians are welcoming of other cultures. “In Indonesia there are 200 to 300 tribes. All these cultures are put together in this one melting pot. 
“I guess they are used to people speaking different languages and looking different. But I can assume that … as a Eurasian in Western countries, it’s probably different and you’re seen as something different.”
Asked if identifies as either culture, Putra says it’s difficult to say. “That’s a tough question. My passport says Indonesian but if you honestly ask me, I cannot say I’m one or the other, I’m definitely in between.”


Eurasian actors and model on existing between two worlds, how they struggled with their identity, and now see their diversity celebrated

Model Mia Kang.             

Andrew Koji – star of HBO series Warrior – talks about being Eurasian. Photo: Cinemax

Eurasian actor Henry Golding has been celebrated as a victory for diversity. Photo: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Andrew Koji in a still from Warrior, Series 2. Photo: Warner Media

Model turned muay thai Mia Kang. Photo: Jeff Sainlar

Kang was bullied for being Eurasian when she was growing up. Photo: Getty Images

Indonesian-German actor Arifin Putra. Photo: Getty Images

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Sport

Martial Arts

Other Martial Arts


Eurasian actors Andrew Koji and Arifin Putra, and model turned Muay Thai fighter Mia Kang all struggled with their identities as children
When they achieved success they found themselves being celebrated for their diversity



From Crazy Rich Asians actor Henry Golding to model turned Muay Thai fighter Mia Kang, Eurasian celebrities struggled with bullying and their identity in childhood, but now find themselves celebrated for their diversity.


Fame and celebrity

Racism and other prejudice

Muay Thai

Martial arts

Eurasian actors and model on existing between two worlds, how they struggled with their identity, and now see their diversity celebrated

Eurasian actors Andrew Koji and Arifin Putra, and model turned Muay Thai fighter Mia Kang all struggled with their identities as children When they achieved success they found themselves being celebrated for their diversity

Eurasian actors Andrew Koji and Arifin Putra, and model turned Muay Thai fighter Mia Kang all struggled with their identities as children

When they achieved success they found themselves being celebrated for their diversity