Black pearl, black angel, chocolate girl.

These are some of the kinder tags attached to a Lou Jing, arguably the most debated girl on television, radio and the Internet in China.

Lou Jing, whose mother is Chinese mother and father who is a black American, has unleashed the hottest debate on race and colour in the country.

Most of the reactions have been negative but a few have been downright nasty and vile.

Among the ugly labels that have been pinned on the 20-year old student who took part in the Go! Oriental Angel reality talent show is: "black chimpanzee."

Many have also have refused to accept her as a Chinese although she was born in the country to a Shanghainese mother and raised by her.

The main issue? She is an embarrassing outcome of her mother's extra-marital affair with a black man, who left the country before she was born.

Her mother's Chinese husband was said to have promptly divorced her after she delivered Lou Jing.

The girl's life was peaceful while she studied at the Shanghai Drama Academy until she decided to take part in the Go! Oriental Angel reality talent show of the Dragon TV, Shanghai Media Group.

According to China Daily, the colour of her skin became a major national issue only after she emerged one of the five Shanghai finalists.

She quickly became a target for cruel gossip as soon as her mother shared their family's story on the reality show.

Netizens criticised the mother, blasting her with accusations related to extra-marital affairs, illegitimate children and purity of race.

A netizen with the handle "Zheng Aitianxia" wrote a post entitled "Lou Jing's American Black Father and Shanghai Mother" on the Chinese forum Tianya that attracted more than 100,000 views and some scathing comments.

Another who assumed Lou Jing's identity responded, by saying: "My father is an American, not an African".

But the posting only resulted in making the situation worse, as it was regarded as discriminatory against Africans.

On Sept 4, after she was eliminated from the show, Lou Jing denied the online posting's authenticity and urged netizens and the media "to stop the harm" they were causing.

But not all Chinese are prejudiced against her. Lou Jing has her fair share of admirers both within the country and increasingly in the US, especially after Time featured her in a story recently.

She has been described as stunning, having an easygoing personality and proudly, even as "China's Halle Berry".

For a positive opinion piece on Lou Jing, read: "Seeing red over black angel" in News section.

-Daily Chilli/Asia News Network

» Seeing red over black angel