South Africa: Honorary Whites

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Under the rules of apartheid, Asians in South Africa for years have been subject to many of the same restrictions as the blacks. One law forbids their sex relations with whites; another forces them to live in nonwhite areas. They cannot buy liquor without a permit, are not allowed in white hotels and restaurants. But Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd's racist regime began to have second thoughts about white supremacy as applied to Asians when, a few weeks ago, it contemplated a tempting $250 million industrial contract with Japan.

Tokyo's Yawata Iron & Steel Co. offered to purchase 5,000,000 tons of South African pig iron over a ten-year period. With such a huge deal in the works. South Africa could hardly afford to insult the visiting Japanese trade delegations that now would regularly visit the country. Without hesitation, Pretoria's Group Areas Board announced that all Japanese henceforth would be considered white, at least for purposes of residence, and Johannesburg's city fathers decided that "in view of the trade agreements" they would open the municipal swimming pools to Japanese guests.

This seemed grossly unfair to South Africa's proud, little (7,000) community of Chinese, who, it seemed, would enjoy none of the new benefits granted the Japanese. "If anything, we are whiter in appearance than our Japanese friends." huffed one of Cape Town's leading Chinese businessmen. Demanded another in dignantly: "Does this mean that the Japanese, now that they are 'white,' cannot associate with us without running afoul of the Immorality Act?"

In Johannesburg the Chinese were slipping in on Japanese coattails, at least at the swimming pools. "It would be extremely difficult for our gatekeepers to distinguish between Chinese and Japanese," admitted the chairman of the city council's Health and Amenities Committee. But as for the broader question of Chinese color status. Verwoerd's government was making no promises. It all recalled Hermann Göring's retort in 1934 when told that a favorite Munich art dealer was a non-Aryan: "I shall decide who is a Jew around here."