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The rules of majority and the rules of minority

taehyun

先輩
17 Jul 2006
158
4
28
Hi!
I really don't know if this question should be under this topic, but couldn't find better...
Anyway,I'd just like to ask if some non-Asian foreigners in Japan are having troubles communicating with foreigners from Asian countries (mostly East Asia).Well, for example in a Japanese school or company, there is a group of foreign students/workers, and the majority of this group is from China or Korea. They create their own rules, often different from the Japanese ones, and the dilemma for the minority is to follow the official ,Japanese rules , or to follow the rules of the Chinese or Korean majority( within the foreingners' community).
In my experience, following the majority's rules offers you comfortable living within the community, and many friends above all, but the posibillity of getting caught in breaking the rules is higher, because non -Asians are more "visible".On the other hand, following the Japanese rules, which I did, created me many enemies within the majority,and it is very difficult to work and live in such a hostile enviroment.And the probem is that , even when I was threatened with violence, the Japanese side, which rules I kept following, was unwilling to interfere.
So, please tell me what would you do? Which rules shall we keep?
 
Your situation is a bit vague; by majority rules do you mean the majority of your coworkers who are not Japanese, or the majority of the people in Japan who are Japanese. If the former, then you mean that the rules of the "minority" are the Japanese rules, and the "majority" rules are those of your fellow non-Japanese coworkers?

I'm also not sure what you mean by the different rules, perhaps we need some examples. Depending on the situation, I don't believe it should matter as much what rules you follow. Perhaps a Japanese boss catching you following your coworker's rules would be more sympathetic if you explained to them that you were following the coworker's rules to make a more positive and cooperative workplace, and that doing otherwise would make your coworkers upset with you. But knowing just what rules are being violated would give us an idea of what kind of reaction to anticipate.
 
Thank you very much for your reply.
Indeed, the situation, presented in the way I presented it is quite unclear, but I didn't want to offend anybody by mentioning their nation in a particular case.
However, I'll state my case.I am an European student, and where I study about 80% of the other foreign students are Chinese.The university's rules are: noone but students from our lab have the rigt to use the computer room; laptops shouldn't be used in this computer room( both regarding the security of the computers and to prevent any viruses); the dorm rooms are only for one person and noone else is allowed to stay there even for the night,etc.
The ruels of the Chinese students are: any other Chinese may use the computers if nobody else sees.If something breaks or any other problem occurs, noone will say anything and we'll wait for the university to fix it.Same with the laptops,and with the dorm, i.e. Japanese may say what they want but we will do what we like.They break the rules and cover each other, but as I am the only non-Asian there , bringing some friend (usually non Asian)becomes quite visible,and I was nearly punished once.I got out by accusing the Japanese in racial discrimination(you see me and punish me, but why didn't you see that one and that one?), but I think the biggest fault is in the Chinese.
Following the Chinese rules got me into trouble with the Japanese. Following the Japanese rules puts me into an outsider's position in the community of foreign students.
Tha was what I mean by rules of the majority (the Chinese majority).
I'd like to emphasize, that in my case the majority is of Chinese students, but in some other cases, mainly in the university, the majority is from Korea or Southeast Asia...
 
Huh ... don't you think it's wise for you to take this matter to the university dean's office,discuss it thoroughly with whom is charge of student faculty ?
 
... I am an European student, and where I study about 80% of the other foreign students are Chinese.The university's rules are: .. the dorm rooms are only for one person and noone else is allowed to stay there even for the night,etc.
... Chinese students ... They break the rules and cover each other, but as I am the only non-Asian there , bringing some friend (usually non Asian)becomes quite visible,and I was nearly punished once.I got out by accusing the Japanese in racial discrimination(you see me and punish me, but why didn't you see that one and that one?), but I think the biggest fault is in the Chinese.
Following the Chinese rules got me into trouble with the Japanese. Following the Japanese rules puts me into an outsider's position in the community of foreign students.
... in some other cases, mainly in the university, the majority is from Korea or Southeast Asia...

So basically the Chinese students don't abide by the rules and cover each other when caught.

Surely, the decision to abide by the rules or not is yours and I wouldn't think that just because you follow the 'Japanese rules', you would automatically become an outsider or anything, though it's inevitable in the long term if you're the only one who follows them.

Do you intend to secretly break the rules like the others in the future? Do you intend to bond well with the Chinese students? The way I see it is that you were unfortunate in getting caught when you followed suit with the other Chinese students. I suppose that you would have to be more careful next time when you do the same as the other Chinese students there - more so because you happen to stand out in your group.
 
Well, if they are PRC Chinese students, you should denounce them anonymously to the authorities as it is part of the majority Chinese culture since the Communist regime is in place. :p
 
Thanx!

Thank you so much for your advises!😄
I hope I haven't offended anyone by mentioning a particular nation in this case:sorry:
I'll take some actions and will post the result.
Thank you again!
 
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