[hitekker]

FWIW, if the BBC reporter were also chinese and speaking the same dialect, then his excited remarks would not be viewed as mocking. Similar gushing happens on other Asian variety shows. I would say the perception of him condescending his interviewees has more to do with the insecurity of the viewers[1] than it does with the presenter.

[1]"Man of Race-or-Country Y is exaggerating something in our language? Race-or-Country Y must be looking down on us!"

[dmoy]

It's not just foreigner either, you'll get a similar level of interaction with someone who speaks very unaccented Mandarin coming to an area where people normally speak a different language (there's dozens in China) and don't speak Mandarin nearly as fluently.

Sort of like mocking hick accents in the US, real funny until you're talking with someone who actually has a hick accents, and then it's just kinda mean.