Racial classification, redress and citizenship: the case of the Chinese South Africans

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Periodical article

Title:	Racial classification, redress and citizenship: the case of the Chinese South Africans
Authors:	Erasmus, Yvonne Park, Yoon Jun
Year:	2008
Periodical:	Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa
Issue:	68
Pages:	99-109
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	Chinese racial classification affirmative action citizenship judgments
External link:	https://muse.jhu.edu/article/258709
Abstract:	Following repeated efforts to seek clarification from the Government on the position of Chinese South Africans in the new South Africa, the Chinese Association of South Africa (CASA) and two other applicants launched a court application against the Government challenging the exclusion of Chinese from the definition of previously disadvantaged groups in the Employment Equity and Black Empowerment legislation. The order issued on 18 June 2008 by the Pretoria High Court, stating that Chinese South Africans fall within the definition of 'black people' contained in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 and the Broad-Based Black Empowerment Act 53 of 2003, unleashed an alarming backlash in the media. The CASA case and the highly publicized and negative reactions to the court ruling bring into stark relief the continued significance of race and racial classifications in South Africa, and the ongoing tensions between policies of redress and the construction of inclusive notions of citizenship. [ASC Leiden abstract]