Obama's trip to Asia will make for good Thanksgiving Day conversation. Did the President fail? Will China keep buying American Treasuries? While many pundits laud "the Chinese miracle," an economic feat helped largely by the fact of the country's monocultural hegemony, we should remember that there are drawbacks to such a culture. For example, even as our first black President made his way to visit our greatest competitor, one of the most talked about topics in China was Lou Jing, who took part in the Go! Oriental Angel reality talent show. The 20-year-old Shanghainese singer, the child of a black father and a Chinese mother -- sound somewhat familiar? Lou Jing has exposed the fault lines of racism in the largely homogeneous China. From NPR:

In her two months on air, Lou was nicknamed the "Chocolate Angel" and the "Black Pearl" by the media. She wasn't bothered by these names, she says.

But online, the poison pens were venomous. Chinese posting messages on the Web criticized her skin color as "gross" and "ugly"; they called her shameless for appearing on television. The worst insults were reserved for her mother for having had a relationship with a black man out of wedlock. Lou and her mother are now suing one Shanghai newspaper for libel.

There were online statements of support as well, but the verbal attacks stunned Lou.

"I looked at the posts and I cried. Then I didn't look at them anymore. I decided I would do my best to go abroad to study," she says.

As a young activist in the late 80s, I remember horror stories about racism in China. The odd thing here is that China, because of its need for natural resources, is more dependent on Africa than it ever was in the past. China is spending billions to court African nations of their good intentions but squandering such an opportunity at stamping out bigotry on their own shores.

Stories about Lou Jing routinely draw hundreds of thousands of unique viewers. Note to the mandarins of Beijing: if there was ever a "teachable moment" on the subject of race in China, it might be now. Just saying.

[Image: Imaginechina via Time]