The Chinese community came here in the 60s, and they have since become the biggest ethnic minority group in Northern Ireland, consisting of about 8,000 Chinese people all over Northern Ireland.
There are Chinese communities scattered throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland - is there any evidence to suggest that racism here in Northern Ireland is any worse than it is in any of the other cities throughout these islands?
People who came from England told us that in Northern Ireland it is worse, in that in England people know what is being racist. People know not to call Chinese people 'Chinky' or kick people, they know that it is wrong, and also there is legislation in England to prevent that. But in Northern Ireland, people can openly shout and yell abuse at Chinese people and they don't really get a lot of concerns from people on the street. Obviously Chinese people get annoyed with it, but people walking alongside them, the general public, don't really bat an eyelid about it.
I personally walked down the street in Belfast one time - 5.30 in full daylight - I got shouted at by four young people walking towards me. I walked away from them, walked to the side of the pavement to walk past them, and the next thing I realised was that one of them kicked me from behind and nobody came up to ask me how I was or show any support towards me, and those four young men then ran across the street and jumped, and stood on the other side of the pavement, shouting abuse and laughing and jumping up and down - and nobody said anything to them.
