Here's another comment by one of that article's readers which shared another example of how those kind of televisions shows might play a role in helping to eradicate outdated racial attitudes and opinions:

"This reminds me of the massively popular show, Indian Idol, in India (based on American Idol). One of the finalists last year (or in 2007, I think) was a contestant of Chinese descent. He had a Chinese name and Chinese heritage– he does not look Indian and he does not have Indian heritage. But he belongs to a sizeable Chinese community in India and he spoke fluent Hindi. He became an overnight popular senation with Indian audiences right away.

However, some Indians had a negative reaction to him because they said he cannot become an "Indian Idol" since technically, he's not Indian. But in some past interviews, he kept insisting that he's Indian and he considered himself Indian, not Chinese.
-Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist; posted 27 Aug 2009 at 11:07 am

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Here's an article that I found about that contestant:

"He is a Chinese by birth, and a dentist by profession. But this shy 24-year old is singing his way to people's hearts all over India. Meiyang Chang, the Indian Idol 3 finalist, has a mellifluous voice, which has secured him a berth among the top 10 contestants of the popular music show aired on Thursday through Saturday on Sony Entertainment Television.

Chang, a resident of Dhanbad, has continued to woo the audiences all over the country ever since the beginning of the show. Now, he seems to have imbibed a fresh life into the Chinese community of Kolkata, which is not just going gaga over the young Chang, but also coming together and striving hard to ensure him the top-slot in the show. Kolkata has been home to many Chinese people since time immemorial. The local Chinese, as they are known, are involved in trades including tannery, dentistry, restaurant business and beauty parlour business.

With most Chinese youths having either of these backgrounds, Meiyang Chang's passion for music is setting him a class apart. A self-confessed bathroom singer, Chang has no formal training in music. Still, his melodious voice and his impeccable pronunciation of even the most complicated Hindi words have won him rave reviews from the audiences as well as the judges of the show, including noted lyricist Javed Akhtar, and celebrated music director Annu Maalek.Needless to say, with such a fan-following, Chang is creating quite a stir among the Chinese people of West Bengal."

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:uHZEfuLIRjsJ:www.dhapa.com/chinese-indian-idol-meiyang-chang+chinese+wins+indian+idol+televi