A Chinese businessman has complained to the media that a Japanese-style bar in Shanghai refused to serve him because of his nationality.

The man, surnamed Lu, said he invited a Chinese client to Club J on Shaanxi Road S. last week to have a drink.

Upon entering the bar, which is Chinese-owned despite its Japanese decor, the receptionist welcomed them warmly in Japanese. But she stopped them from entering an elevator after hearing them converse in Chinese and told them Chinese are not welcome.

"Isn't it unfair for a bar opened on Chinese territory not to serve Chinese people?" Lu asked.

A manager at the establishment who identified herself only as Huang admitted that Japanese bars rarely welcome Chinese customers, according to the Youth Daily, where the story was first published.

"It isn't discrimination. It's our system, just like a hotel can refuse people in sloppy dress," said Huang. "We used to encounter conflict when serving Chinese customers because they wouldn't accept the minimum consumption of 300 yuan (US$36)."

She also complained that Chinese customers are often loud, which disturbs their more quiet Japanese counterparts.

"Refusing service to sloppy people in a hotel is a bad analogy," said Hu Shoujun, a sociologist at Fudan University. "Bars are meant for the public and they should not discriminate."

He noted that hotels generally welcome people of all nationalities.

The main reason why the bars are restricted is because Japanese customers spend more, resulting in higher profits, said a bar waitress named Fang.

Club J isn't alone. Many Japanese-style bars in the city, most of which are owned by Chinese who have studied or worked in Japan, limit service to Japanese clientele.

Among common excuses, according to industry insiders, are that the bar is full or booked or reserved for members.

Much anger has been aroused in the Chinese community after this latest incident was made known.

More than 95 percent of those surveyed online by the city's largest portal Website (www.eastday.com) said they feel the bar is probably guilty of discrimination. Many suggest that the government take action to stop such behavior.

Officials at the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau said the bar's behavior violates the Consumer Protection Law, which stipulates that consumers enjoy the right to have their dignity and national customs respected when buying and using commodities and receiving service.

Yuan Beizhong, director of the Bureau's consumer protection division, said the law does not make clear what punishment, if any, applies to violators.

Yuan recommended that until that changes, people who feel they have been wronged should file a discrimination lawsuit.

(eastday.com December 23, 2003)