Lu Ke made Malawian children denigrate themselves and other black people – in a language they didn’t understand – Photo: BBC / Twitter
Lu Ke made Malawian children denigrate themselves and other black people – in a language they didn’t understand – Photo: BBC / Twitter
Eish, this is just horrendous. A Chinese citizen has been arrested after he illegally entered Zambia this week. Lu Ke, who had been living and working in Malawi, attempted to flee the country after he produced a large of number of racist videos, featuring dozens of local children.
Who is Lu Ke? Chinese man arrested in Zambia for ‘racist videos’
Lu Ke is accused of exploiting children in Malawian villages by filming them making racist remarks about themselves, in Chinese phrases they did not understand. He then sold the videos on Chinese social media. The BBC investigation into the matter has proved to be a must-watch…
A racist Chinese citizen identified as Lu Ke who is based in Lilongwe has admitted shooting a video in which Malawi children were told to chant “I am a black monster and my IQ is low”. Lu Ke says he shoots such videos in Malawi to promote Chinese culture pic.twitter.com/OhvYqeLwvp
— Malawi24 (@Malawi24) June 13, 2022
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes…
Life has been fairly miserable for Lu Ke since his racist videos went viral for all the wrong reasons. His entire business collapsed, and the Malawians who were mercilessly mocked took a stand against his presence in Lilongwe. The Chinese national now finds himself in a world of trouble.
- After the video went viral, and he was confronted by villagers, Lu Ke fled Malawi.
- However, immigration officials in Zambia confirmed his arrest on Monday 20 June
- He illegally entered into Zambia via ‘uncharted routes’, and he was picked up in the town of Chipata
- Lu Ke stands could be charged with the exploitation of children, after using them in his videos for nefarious purposes.
- Malawi and China have had diplomatic relations for the past 14 years – but this incident has put a strain on the partnership.
Racist videos ‘drive a wedge’ between Malawians and Chinese
The entire row has threatened to cause a diplomatic rift between Malawi and China, but the Chinese Embassy in the African nation has stepped in to cool tensions. In a recently-released statement, the consulate reiterated its ‘zero tolerance’ policy on racism:
“It shall be stressed that the Chinese government has zero tolerance for racism. China has been cracking down on unlawful online acts in the past years and will continue to do so. The embassy will closely work with the Malawi side and see to it that this unfortunate issue be properly addressed.”
Chinese Embassy in Malawi
Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Malawi also told AFP that they want Lu Ke to stand trial in Malawi, after his trove of racist videos became big hits back in China.
“We are trying to manage whatever aspect of this that involves us working with the Chinese government. For the rest of the other aspects, those are internal issues that are being handled by internal state organs. We want him to stand trial in Malawi.”
Malawi Foreign Affairs Ministry
