Hong Lauwai -- latest Internet Celebrity

November 15, 2009 3:47 PM

Hong Lauwai ('Red Foreigner') sings along with patriotic Red Chinese songs on various sites like YouTube. Alleged to be a New Yorker and stock trader, his true identity isn't known at this time. Since he appeared shirtless in his first performances (Without the Communist Party, There would be No New China; The East is Red), there was some doubt of his sincerity, and consternation among hard-liners in Beijing -- what if he was singing totally nude?

• Wikipedia
• A (subtitled) Chat With Red Foreigner & Chris
• Hong Laowai on Stereotypes
• an Afternoon with Red Lauwai (where we learn his first name is actually George).

posted by Rash (16 comments total)

This one. Wow.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 3:53 PM on November 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

So.

Can anyone help me understand this? Or should I not try to parse and analyze, just accept.
posted by fontophilic at 5:59 PM on November 15, 2009

It's hard to be sure, but I think he may be going for an ironic, Brockmanesque "...welcome our new ChiCom overlords" sort of thing.
posted by The Tensor at 6:09 PM on November 15, 2009

That Shangiist blog post about him visiting China was precious: "A lot of people are going to wonder whether this is all just a way to meet girls."

George doesn't want to meet girls. (Unfortunately for us, because he's adorable.)
posted by autoclavicle at 6:49 PM on November 15, 2009

He is sort of adorable, I agree. Wikipedia says After the closing of Lehman Brothers, Honglaowai, a Wall Street trader, has shied way from his Sina blog for several months. Would be interesting to know what he's up to now.
posted by jamesonandwater at 6:58 PM on November 15, 2009

George doesn't want to meet girls.

Wow, no kidding. This is the gayest thing I've seen in years.

Kinda makes me want to move to Chelsea.
posted by mykescipark at 7:12 PM on November 15, 2009

From the wikipedia page: In his blog entry dated November 20, 2007, he explained that his intention had not been to insult China. "True Communists say that it is not clothes, but ideas that are the most important!", he stated.

That's a great goddamn line. I'd kinda want that on a t-shirt except that'd be way skeevy. Maybe on underwear. Somehow that's less skeevy but I can't explain why.
posted by Kattullus at 7:30 PM on November 15, 2009

How can you sing '洋装虽然穿在身' when you're bollock-naked? Perhaps it's a new take on On Contradiction?
Any old foreigner can get an audience doing this sort of thing, it's the long tradition of 耍猴子. Plus if he had any taste he'd do 山丹丹开花红艳艳.
posted by Abiezer at 7:32 PM on November 15, 2009

Even better version of 山丹丹开花红艳艳, also from A Bao.
posted by Abiezer at 7:38 PM on November 15, 2009

>: Somehow that's less skeevy but I can't explain why.

'Cause it would be on your skivvies?
posted by dunkadunc at 9:09 PM on November 15, 2009

And then there's this guy.
posted by bwg at 9:58 PM on November 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

I have now spent all too much time watching these videos. They're pretty damn stellar. I don't know if they're deadpan comedy or just infinite earnestness, though the North Korean song makes me pretty sure that humor is involved (not that I haven't met earnest young folk who told me that reports of the horrors of North Korea were just Western propaganda).
posted by Kattullus at 10:35 PM on November 15, 2009

Ouch, as if the video weren't bad enough, that accent is painful to listen to as well.
posted by Poagao at 12:01 AM on November 16, 2009

How can you sing '洋装虽然穿在身' when you're bollock-naked? Perhaps it's a new take on On Contradiction?
Any old foreigner can get an audience doing this sort of thing, it's the long tradition of 耍猴子. Plus if he had any taste he'd do 山丹丹开花红艳艳.
posted by Abiezer at 11:32 AM on November 16 [+] [!]

The only way to win is not to play.
posted by saysthis at 1:56 AM on November 16, 2009

Someone left a YouTube comment with his full name, but I'm not going to link it. His LinkedIn (definitely him--the picture matches) says he's an analyst in the financial services industry.
posted by autoclavicle at 3:46 AM on November 16, 2009

Are you a hard-liner, or are you just glad to see me hit high 'C'?
posted by CynicalKnight at 7:51 AM on November 16, 2009