Hacker News Reader

Comment by blacksmith_tb | Hacker News Reader

Hmm, I haven't visited, but looking through online images of Beijing I see plenty of English on shopfronts and buildings, will the authorities be visiting McDonald's to have them cover up too? I am of course not serious, tourists are happy to spend their money in those stores, which is in the national interest.

View on HN

The article is clear that Chinese have a problem with Muslims and Arabic texts based on religion associations, seems to be directed at halal, especially.

> Authorities in the Chinese capital have ordered halal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and symbols associated with Islam from their signs, part of an expanding national effort to “Sinicize” its Muslim population.

Officially seems to have “nothing to do” with the language.

Even Cardie B. is eating halal, these idiots are so not down with progress.

Would Americans accept food warnings written in foreign script? Serious question?

The article says nothing about food labels. They seem to want the outdoor signs (names of the businesses, Arabic halal spelling) removed. Also, I'm not American, no idea what Americans would accept.

So does this mean they're okay with all of the 'Chinatown' districts in the places that aren't China (i.e. scattered all over the globe in most of the larger cities) to the single foreign restaurant in the small village somewhere all having to adopt the local language/alphabet - no pictures of dragons or bamboo etc. etc? Or would they perhaps take offense at that?

I don’t know the answers, I’m sorry. I only replied to the comment, based on what the article says. I have no horse in this race.

I don't know the answers either unfortunately, I just wondered if they'd considered the inverse situation?

To be honest, I don't know whether or not the number of Muslim and/or Arab tourists to Beijing represent a significant portion. Any statistics anyone?

Anecdotally I think that the population of Muslim or Arabic workers in Beijing and china is quite large. Last time I was there I was surprised at the number ir halal stands, Arabic lettering and other related accoutrement.

If this site is to be believed then China has a Muslim pouplationof over 24 million https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-large...

If China's Muslim population amounts to 24 million thus they represent about 1.7% of the whole country'pop; not much maybe.

Interestingly enough that 1.6ish pc makes up 20% of their ethnic population. I guess there about 1000 halal shops in Beijing and super old numbers from 2010 put the Beijing Muslim populations at somewhere a little under 260000. Indeed a pretty small enclave for such a large city. Curiously, despite the relative small size of that enclave I really did notice their presence. Though I guess anything non Han Chinese-related has a tendency to really stick out in Beijing.

Halal is more important to Muslims in China than in USA or Western Europe.

The reason is that Christians and Jews are "people of the book" according to Islam. That means that actually their slaughter is also halal, except for pork of course. So actually per sharia law halal slaughter is not necessary in countries they deem as people of the book. They still prefer it.

In China, however, or any other country that is non-Jewish, Christian, or Muslim, their slaughter can never be halal. In these countries the Muslims may only eat seafood and vegetables.

Very enlightening! Thanks for the info. The implications of Sharia in countries lacking an Abrahamic religious tradition frankly never occurred to me.

Yes, China has been cracking down on foreign names for the last few years:

>In Bid to Protect ‘National Dignity,’ China Cracks Down on Foreign Place Names

>Li Liguo, China’s Minister of Civil Affairs, said that the move will target “exaggerated, foreign, bizarre and repetitive” names, as well as those that cause inconvenience to citizens, Xinhua reported.

>The ministry is particularly concerned about names “that damage sovereignty and national dignity, are against socialist core values, deviate from public order and good morals, and raise strong concerns from the public,” Xinhua cited Mr. Li as saying.

https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2016/03/23/in-bid-to-pro...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com