BTN News: When Antonio Liu Yang (born in Beijing, China, 1980) first encountered the stereotype “you work like a Chinese person,” he thought of his father. “I think he might have invented it,” he jokes. Liu’s father arrived on the Valencian coast in 1984, opening one of Xàbia (Alicante)’s first Chinese restaurants, which he ran for decades. “He worked tirelessly. Sometimes he did 12-hour shifts and said, ‘Today I only worked half a day,’” Liu recalls. Liu joined him in Spain six years later, in 1990. Despite not being “the only foreigner” in what he remembers as a “super-multicultural” Xàbia, Liu faced racial prejudices, both negative and positive. For instance, people assumed he excelled in mathematics due to his Chinese heritage. “Because of my education in China until I was ten, I was ahead. It’s not about being born good; it’s about effort.”
Determined to challenge these stereotypes and foster connections between Chinese and Spanish cultures, Liu became an intercultural facilitator, acting as a consultant and trainer for large companies. His mission was to ease the cultural transition for Western workers in China.
This commitment is the focal point of the tenth episode of LALIGA VS, where Liu discusses with Senegalese actor and comedian Lamine Thior (born in Senegal, 1992), the co-host of the Pódium Podcast No hay negros en el Tíbet. Thior, who moved to Spain at the age of two and grew up in the Andalusian towns of Algeciras and Ubrique, also understands racial prejudices. “People assume that because I’m black, I like hip hop, but what I really enjoy is Andy and Lucas, who are like the Beatles of the South.”
Liu has collaborated with clubs such as Villarreal CF and Valencia CF to bring young Chinese talents into their ranks, creating a mixed team of Chinese and Spanish footballers. Both Liu and Thior agree that football can impart values that combat hatred and promote inclusion. “These values are real; what this sport achieves is magic,” says Thior.
Currently, Liu is involved with the SCORE project, a consortium of 13 institutions from six European Union countries led by the Observatorio Español del Racismo y la Xenofobia (OBERAXE), which is under the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations, and has collaborated with LALIGA. For Liu, this represents the ultimate strategy to eliminate such hatred. “A friend explained it well: the fight against racism is like the rain in Galicia. You go out and don’t realize it’s raining, but when you get home, you’re soaked. This is what needs to be done: an action like SCORE here, another by LALIGA there…”
Antonio Liu Yang’s journey from China to Spain is not just a personal narrative but a testament to the broader struggle against racial prejudices and the power of intercultural dialogue. His work as an intercultural facilitator and his involvement in projects like SCORE illustrate the importance of continuous, widespread efforts to foster understanding and inclusivity. Football, with its universal appeal, stands out as a powerful medium for promoting these values, making Liu’s initiatives all the more impactful in the ongoing battle against racism.
