The person who told me I used it offensively didnt really explain why to me. I've avoided saying the word for years straight now. I still don't know how to say the word ethnic appropriately.
I can't help but think I might have said it with a colonial perspective
Btw, why is it perfectly fine here?
Well, it depends. Using it like a publicly-accepted academic descriptor is fine, like Erika did
Now, if you use it like the word "exotic", it's a bit iffy, maybe orientalist-framed so to speak, and I think the People's Daily article you're using was prolly translated without this sensitivity in mind