Since the birthday song consists of words that supposedly sound Chinese but are not real Chinese, it would come across as hurtful and disrespectful. “At a very young age, many children with an Asian background are labeled as ‘weird’ or ‘different’,” said a spokesperson for Asian Raisins. “Prejudice from their classmates and teachers can cause them to be excluded, underestimated or bullied.”
Partly for this reason, the foundation has developed a teaching package for groups 7 and 8. To make children aware of this behavior and also to stimulate solidarity. The Mattheus School in Utrecht is one of the primary schools that embraces the teaching package.
According to teacher Polina Verstappen it is important to draw more attention to stereotyping among Asian people. “You don’t hear much about that, but it is there. The intention of people who sing Hanky Panky Shanghai may not be racist, but the consequences are of course not okay.”