In the abhorrent South African apartheid system, people were classed as white, black or coloured, the latter applying mainly to people of Asian extraction.
Coloured in the South African system stemmed from Cape Coloureds, nothing to do with Asians.
The system became highly technical and had some political overtones in its application and by that I mean exceptions were made for 'political' purposes. Thus the majority of Asians (brought in for the sugar plantations) were classed as Coloureds but Japanese were classed as 'white' (no doubt because of the trade links). Chinese were not classed as 'white'.
The Coloureds distinction was not meant to be 'offensive' in the manner you suggest. It was originally introduced for the Cape Coloureds who were genetically a mix of former bushman and the white settlers who essentially arrived following Jan Van Riebeck and the Dutch inbound migration. Their skin colour was thus 'coloured' as opposed to black.
The history of South Africa is unbelivably complex and simplifying it as a 'the blacks were here first' argument is tosh. Much of the black population of South Africa owes its existance to inbound migrant labour from other parts of Southern Africa. There are some important indiginous tribes, the most famous being the Zulus. Historically the Coloureds were always given higher status than 'blacks', but at times it was hard to see where!
What is a shame and a tragedy is that for the Boer War we probably would never have had apartheid, which was a system based on separateness. It existed in an unofficial form for decades (as it did elsewhere in the western and colonial world) but the creation of the Union of South Africa started to formalise it, but what really did it was the Nationalists coming into power after WWII.
The Afrikaaners finally got control after losing out over the Boer War. Had the Boer War not started I would argue that the gradual removal of global 'superior ethnic policies' would have influenced South Africa away from what we now know as the Apartheid system.
Ironically it still exists in India (as the caste system) and one might argue in Israel (who were strong supporters of Apartheid South Africa probably on the grounds of we are in this together).
What did apartheid South Africa in was a combination of the end of the cold war and the realisation that a class system based on race is both impractical and morally unacceptable. The problem was how to change it. White South Africans weren't afraid of the 'blacks' but of communism. I know I was there in 1969.
I suspect the same challenges are facing some in China. They know communism doesn't really work but haven't a clue how to change it and also if you are in power you often don't want to give it up!
And yes I've lived in both countries and generally found people of all races and cultures very welcoming and friendly.
