Tom Reilly

I read the story of the "Chinese Woman" and was moved by her experiences of racism. I do, however, feel obliged to defend the actions of the person described in the article as "Christian leaflet people" who asked if she spoke English.

Having distributed Christian Literature in a multicultural society myself, we all carry leaflets in other tongues such as Mandarin, Cantonese, Urdu etc. The question was out of politeness and concern that the lady may have actually been from abroad and would be honoured that a Scot had taken the trouble to reach out to her in her own language.

I feel that there is a danger that this lady may have absorbed some of the racism that has been hurled at her by the ignoramuses who sadly inhabit "every land and culture". How do I know? I am married to a Cambodian of Chinese descent.