LMK-
I'm not planning to change the world and i dont think yelling would have the effect either.

honestly, i've never felt upset about getting ripped off at markets, i know that's just the way it is. we are all guests in this country, and i know that we guests are generally assumed to be quite affluent, even when we aren't. (as is my own case) i've never felt angry about it, i just accept the inevitable. do you guys feel upset about it?
also, i wasn't trying to say that us getting ripped off is the reason for this promotion, that we're doing this BECAUSE foriegners get ripped off. that wasn't my meaning at all. i was mentioning that these were the thoughts in my head as i was writing the ad up, reflecting on the whole matter after i had already been given my assignment.

lmk-you have very valid points, but isn't likening this promotion to 'chinese and dogs not allowed' a bit extreme? the whole point of this was to bring foriegners and chinese together in a party setting, not to exclude people on the basis of nationality. we wanted to encourage more mixing and mingling between chinese and foreigners through this, and try to develop a new option for kunming's expats.

this all seems like a classic case of 'shooting the messenger.' i was just doing my job.

and if everyone reads the ad, its clear that the promotion is not resticted to foreigners.

Ironic how the only people getting their panties in a bunch are the ones saying it. Calm the heck down.

I think that the original ad (for the first night) did say free beer for foreigners, which is what started out this whole topic in the first place.

just a tip:

after you deleted almost everywhere the "only for foreigners"-part, you also should delete the "available absolutely every day to Kunming's expats" at facebook.

Still looks a little wired.

Think I'm going to drink all the booze myself and to hell with whole thing. :-)

That's the spirit,, although drinking by yourself is the first step towards becoming a raging alcoholic. I'll help you down it,,, that's me,, all altruistic 'n' stuff :-)

Already at Step 4 - Acceptance. Keep yer mitts off my booze ;)

Way to go Piers!

I honestly dont see what all the fuss is about. Chinese discos, clubs and bars almost always try to pull you in when they see you are a forreigner and offer you free drinks. For many Chinese, its "hip" and "cool" to have forreigners there and they think that if more forreigners are seen in their establishment, it will bring more hip cool Chinese who want to spend money and show off.
So why besh on Piers for doing what basically all Chinese establishments do? If your g/f or wife is Chinese, I can pay for her booze.
I really dont see any discrimination, but a normal promotional custom here, or a way to try to introduce a place as a watering hole for expats who want to kick back and enjoy eachothers company, or just a friendly gesture.

All I'm saying is that giving white people preferences and privileges feels like we're taking a step backward. The "White is better" attitude is RAMPANT and we don't need to do anything more to encourage it. And please don't give me another metaphor comparing civil rights and equality to using the ladies' room. That doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

I'm tired of the B.A.ness and negative attitudes coming off from some of you people. That includes you Piers and your blasé attitude that says "Oh well, we don't need you people as customers anyway." This is actually a more serious topic than you realize, and if you were Asian, I guarantee your perspectives and opinions would be different.

BTW, if I were you, I'd tell your boss that this is a bad business strategy. Foreigners are not going to go back without free alcohol unless they actually like the club and it has decent parties. Plus, the Chinese money is what you're after anyway. They're the big spenders in Kundu.

PS Even though I don't see what the connection is, I'd just like to point out that people who are good bargainers and savvy shoppers probably are not going to get ripped off that much, regardless of their foreigner status. China has an extreme bargaining culture and sellers want to make money while buyers want to save money. Have fun with it.

Oh, and before you say "Well having foreigners there is going to increase Chinese spending," remember that you'll piss off/offend those Chinese people when they find out about this promotion. And judging from some of the reactions from the Chinese people who've seen this, I think it sounds like it's not going to be too popular if news of the promotion got out.