Thriving Chinese Business Trend: Renting Token White Guys [Video]
It may sound like a Ripley’s Believe It or Not claim, but being a token white guy can be quite a lucrative gig in China. Companies eager to look more impressive and boast an international profile are reportedly engaging in a white guy window dressing scheme. Some rented men are making $1,000 per week while nodding, smiling, dining in nice restaurants, and staying in fine hotels.
Apparently some Chinese companies feel that a Caucasian man in a suit creates a luxurious façade. Exactly why rental gigs for black or Hispanic men are sparse or non-existent is undefined but does insinuate that a bit of racial disparity is at play. Women expertly dressed in business attire do not appear to be in high demand either.
Reasonably attractive white men in relatively good shape can find fairly regular work renting themselves out, even if they do not speak the language. The employees who are being hired solely for their looks are not complaining about the stereotype though; in such a struggling economy, virtually any legal means of earning a paycheck is pounced upon quickly.
A company called Rent a Laowai, (Chinese for foreigner) is allegedly raking in the cash by helping businesses enhance their image by showcasing fake white partners or employees. There is no training manual or academic course required to become successful in the new career and get what is commonly referred to as a face job.
Models and actors are highly desired window dressing by the human rental company. American ex-patriots or English teachers working in the country are also reportedly moonlighting as pretend businessmen. Think Like the Chinese author Zhang Haihua feels that, since many of his countrymen believe Western countries are so well-developed, that if a company can afford to work with or hire Caucasian men, it must be successful and have quality connections abroad, Oddity Central notes. American actor Jonathan Zatkin stated during an interview with CNN that he was paid 2,000 yuan to travel to a small city in the Henan province and pose as the vice-president of an Italian jewelry company.
