Category: China

Via a reader tip comes what is being claimed as the most racist TV commercial ever that has been airing recently in China.

The Chinese television commercial shows a black man apparently doing painting work inside a home covered in paint.  He begins to whistle at the Chinese woman in the house who is flirting wth him.  The Chinese woman puts a laundry detergent pack in his mouth before grabbing the black man and throwing him into the washing machine.  Afterwards she opens the washing machine and instead of a black man coming out a clean handsome Chinese man comes out.  You can watch the video below:

This doesn’t surprise me, but the laundry detergent company said they intentionally made this advertisement to be provocative:

Xu Chunyan, an agent for Qiaobi based in the Suzhou, China, told the Times that the ad was meant to be provocative.

“We did this for some sensational effect,” she told the newspaper. “If we just show laundry like all the other advertisements, ours will not stand out.”  [Miami Herald]

For those not familiar with China racism is not a big issue with them and this commercial is definitely racist.  However, in the age of the Internet commercials like this can no longer just remain with a domestic audience.  With that said what affect will the blowback on the Internet really have any affect on the company if they are strictly targeting the Chinese audience?  Since their goal was to stand out to their domestic audience, the controversy on the Internet is probably only going to help their sales if anything because of the increased attention.  Plus I just don’t expect a big movement with China to develop as a backlash against this company that would impact their sales any way.

It is going to be really interesting to see what the Chinese reaction is going to be if in fact the UNCLOS ruling in regards to territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea favors the Philippines:

The simmering dispute in the contested South China Sea is about to turn to a boil.

With an international arbitration court ruling on the legality of China’s “nine-dash line” claim to much of the South China Sea set to be handed down in the coming days or weeks, experts say the situation is likely to get a lot more complicated in the months and possibly years ahead.

The case, brought before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague by the Philippines, is widely expected to end in a ruling favoring Manila, which says that Beijing’s claims violate United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) agreements about territorial seas and exclusive economic zones (EEZ).

While both China and the Philippines are signatories to the treaty, Beijing has refused to participate in the process and vowed to ignore its ruling.

“The PCA is likely to determine that none of the land features at issue are entitled to an EEZ or continental shelf, and that some are not entitled even to a territorial sea,” James Kraska, research director at the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College, wrote in late April in a paper posted to the Maritime Awareness Project website.

“The decision will not make China walk back its claims or undo its island building, but it will challenge the country’s notion that the law is the instrument of the strong to control the weak,” Kraska wrote. “Ineffective as they are, international law and the moral authority of a liberal world order pose a central obstacle to Chinese ambitions.”

Another key result of the ruling could see China’s hand forced on the nine-dash line.

Analysts say a large part of China’s strategy in the disputed waters rests on the ambiguity surrounding its claims. Beijing has never clarified exactly what the nine-dash line claim entails, apparently in hopes of maximizing its gains. It has also used its man-made islands in the South China Sea to bolster claims to EEZs of 200 nautical miles (370 km) and territorial seas of 12 nautical miles (22 km).

“The nine-dash line is really what’s at the heart of this case,” said Harry Krejsa, a Research Associate at the Center for a New American Security.

“The court wants to bring as much clarity as possible to the South China Sea disputes while also being strategic about its ability to strengthen international norms over the long run,” Krejsa said.

But a decision in favor of Manila, one nixing the nine-dash line, will undoubtably prompt a furious reaction from Beijing.

“The whole situation is probably going to get worse before it gets better, but strategically, the case for international law and norms are going to get stronger,” Krejsa said.  [Japan Times]

You can read more at the link, but if for example the ruling declares that the Scarborough Shoal is Philippine territory and the Chinese refuse to vacate it what should be the US and United Nations reaction to this?  Economic sanctions?  Is the US government willing to absorb the retaliatory economic impact that would come from China in response to such sanctions?

That is what some experts in China believe when compared to his competitor Hillary Clinton:

China features prominently in the rhetoric of presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who accuses the country of stealing American jobs and cheating at global trade. In China though, he’s only just emerging as a public figure, despite notoriety elsewhere for his voluble utterances, high-profile businesses and reality TV shows.

Although the government has denounced Trump’s threats of economic retaliation, many Chinese observers see a silver lining in his focus on economic issues instead of human rights and political freedoms. That could make him an attractive alternative to his likely rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump “could in fact be the best president for China,” Hong Kong Phoenix Television political commentator Wu Jun said during a recent on-air discussion.

“That’s because the Republican Party is more practical and Trump is a businessman who puts his commercial interests above everything else,” Wu said. Clinton, on the other hand, “might be the least friendly president toward China.”  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link, but considering all of Clinton links to Chinese money it seems like she would be the preferred Chinese government candidate despite her human rights rhetoric.

This just proves what I have always said, that action speak louder than words when it comes to Chinese government claims they are complying with sanctions on North Korea:

While the Chinese government claims in official trade figures that it no longer exports oil to North Korea, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter visited a pipeline facility located in the outskirts of the border city of Dandong and witnessed crude oil being loaded into the pipeline for transport across the border.

Located on the China-North Korea border along the Yalu River, this facility is where crude oil goes through a last inspection before being transported across the river.

When the reporter visited the pipeline facility, crude oil was being loaded into the pipeline from oil tankers. The crude oil, which comes from the Daqing Oil Field – the biggest oil field in China located in Heilongjiang Province – was transported there by train and would be piped to a storage facility in Baekma, North Pyongan Province, from which it will be distributed among state agencies, military bases and transport-related factories in the energy-hungry country.   [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but I have never believed that the Chinese government would fully comply with sanctions because even though the Kim regime is a foreign policy headache for them, a collapsed North Korean state would be even worse.

This is ironic coming from a country that since World War II ended has invaded Tibet, tried to destroy South Korea, fought border skirmishes with both India and Vietnam and is currently in the process of bullying their neighbors to take over the entire South China Sea:

China told Japan on Wednesday that Tokyo should not repeat its history of militarism as U.S. President Barack Obama plans to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima later this month.

Obama would become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima since it was hit by an American nuclear bomb in 1945. Along with a second nuclear bombing on Nagasaki, these attacks forced Japan to accept unconditional surrender that ended World War II.

The visit by Obama to Hiroshima will be closely watched by Japan’s neighbors, including South Korea and China, at a time when Japan’s revisionists deny its wartime atrocities, including the sexual enslavement of women by the Japanese Imperial Army.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters that, with Obama’s upcoming visit to Hiroshima, “The Japanese side would show to the world that it will never again travel the path of militarism.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Considering the Chinese embassy in Seoul was able to get away with organizing riots and assaulting and beating Korean nationals in Seoul, getting a Falun Gong dance performance cancelled should come as no surprise:

In recent months, incidents of Communist Party restrictions on free expression extending beyond China’s borders have occurred across Asia. Now South Korea, a leading democracy in the region, has joined this disturbing trend.

On May 4, a court in Seoul issued a last-minute ruling canceling a series of classical Chinese dance and music shows by Shen Yun Performing Arts, scheduled to take place at KBS Hall over the weekend. The ruling explicitly cites threats by the Chinese embassy aimed at the theater owner, including implicit references to financial reprisals if the shows go on as planned.

The mission of the New York–based performance group is to revive China’s five-millennia-old traditional culture, which has been largely destroyed under decades of Communist rule. Shen Yun’s performers practice Falun Gong, a meditation and spiritual discipline whose practitioners are persecuted in China today; some company members have themselves fled religious persecution or have family members imprisoned in China still.

Alongside dances portraying scenes from imperial dynasties and literary classics, some of the show’s pieces also depict the story of what Falun Gong practitioners face in China today or attacks on Buddhist temples during the Cultural Revolution. An overarching theme throughout the Shen Yun performance is the traditional Chinese concept of a connection between Heaven, Earth, and humankind. [The Diplomat]

You can read more at the link.

I could only imagine what the reaction in the US would be to an Army recruiting video looking for people to “Kill, Kill, Kill!”:

China’s military is appealing to the younger generation with a slick new recruitment video featuring aircraft carriers, tanks and special forces troops, all set to a rousing rap-rock soundtrack.

 

With lyrics such as “just waiting for the order to kill, kill, kill,” the video appears aimed at millennials brought up on violent first-person shooter video games such as “Call of Duty.” While no potential opponents are identified in the clip, it cautions that “war can break out at any time,” and asks “are you ready?”

 

The clip, available Wednesday via a link on the Defense Ministry’s official website, appears as the 2.3 million-member People’s Liberation Army is downsizing in an effort to boost its war-fighting capabilities. Chief among those steps is a cut of 300,000 personnel, while the navy, missile corps and air force are receiving more attention and funding.  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link.

I would not be surprised if this was North Korean payback for restaurant defections that happened last month.  If this was a murder by the North Koreans I wonder what the Chinese reaction will be to Kim regime agents murdering Chinese citizens?:

An ethnic Korean clergyman with Chinese nationality has been found dead in a northeastern Chinese town close to the border with North Korea, a North Korea watcher said on Sunday, raising suspicions that the North could possibly be involved in his death.

The body of the priest, identified by his surname Han and known for his activities in support of North Korean defectors, was found Saturday afternoon, the watcher said, speculating that he may have been murdered.

Chinese police have immediately launched a probe into Han’s death.

Han is known for serving at Changbai Church in Changbai County, Jilin Province, a region that is populated by the Chaoxian people, or ethnic Koreans living in China.

“Han had been active in supporting North Korean defectors,” the watcher said. “Murder seems the most likely cause of his death.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the South China Sea front where the US is expanding efforts to demonstrate to China the US commitment to freedom of navigation:

Filipino fishermen say they’ve seen more Chinese coast guard ships than usual around the contested Scarborough Shoal, which China effectively took over in 2013 after a tense standoff with Philippine vessels.

Although fishermen have been complaining they’re being driven away by Chinese ships, the Philippine Department of Defense said it could not confirm an increase in Chinese presence at the shoal, 145 miles (230 kilometers) from Luzon island.

Meantime, the U.S. Air Force flew its first mission over the Scarborough area as part of a new Air Contingent force stationed in the Philippines. It involved four A-10C Thunderbolt jets and two Sikorsky HH-60 helicopters.

Via a reader tip (thanks MTB Rider!) comes this hilarious Chinese cartoon warning Chinese against dating foreigners because they could be spies!  This is even funnier considering how the Chinese intelligence services are well known for using female spies to strike up romantic relationships with Americans that have access to sensitive information.  Maybe the US military should publish a cartoon like this to hand out!  😉

Are you a foreigner in China who likes to meet locals, and have been known to strike up romantic relationships with gifts and flattery? If so, you should know that you are showing the telltale signs of being a spy.

China is beefing up its defenses against foreign espionage, and they’re hoping to raise public awareness of this danger to national security with its first-ever National Security Education Day held last week.

As reported by China Law Translate, one of the propaganda materials released was called “Dangerous Love” that was seen in residential areas of Xicheng, Beijing.

The 16-panel cartoon follows the story of Xiaoli, a Chinese woman who works in an information department of the country’s civil service. Xiaoli is wooed by a foreigner named David who eventually convinces Xiaoli to hand over sensitive material. Police eventually confront Xiaoli with the revelation that David is in fact a spy, and that she herself is guilty of violating Chinese law regarding state secrets.

As with a number of recent Chinese propaganda releases, “Dangerous Love” uses cartoons as a way to make its content and intentions very clear to its readers.  [The Nan Fang]

You can read the whole series of cartoons at the link.