Zhongnanhai

For the past few weeks a story about a Swiss fashion company, which created a label reading f.u.c.k.u China, has been getting quite a bit of press here in mainland China. At first, I figured this would blow over. But alas, (and let me deeply intone with one eyebrow raised in a serious manner) this has officially "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people." And when that happens, "official complaints" must be lodged and petitions must be signed.

I regularly read the Japanese blog site Japundit, which is kind of a Tokyo version of Shanghaiist. I can't help but feel the site likes to laugh at some of China's problems, such as a recent statement by a Chinese government official that China must "raise the quality" of the Chinese people before the Olympics. And now, they couldn't resist running an article about the offending label.

Basically the Swiss fashion design company, Philipp Plein created the limited edition label reading "f.u.c.k.u China". It was found on a Chinese boy in the German city of Bremen. After receiving furious complaints from the Chinese (and the ubiquitous "hurts the feelings of..." statement), Philipp Plein said the whole thing was one giant misunderstanding. f.u.c.k.u China actually means “the fascinating & urban collection: kiss you China.” Ahh, so nothing to worry about, right?

Well, Philipp Plein is clearly being a bit facetious, and it's not like they released the label and somebody said, "Gee, this says fuck u China on it, somebody should've probably caught that." Instead, this was meant to be a joke on China's rampant pirating of the fashion company's products. And, actually, I find it a bit funny.

It's too bad the Chinese don't.

I was discussing this topic with my dad today (although not specifically this story). As a Canadian, my country is often the butt of jokes in the United States and beyond. Who can forget Blame Canada in the South Park movie, or the bumbling, freezing cold, toque-wearing, hockey playing, toothless bumpkin stereotype that seems to persist in American media. Sure, they are insulting Canada. But it's funny. And we don't take it too seriously.

In fact, the Chinese embassy in Germany is even getting involved. Doesn't the Chinese embassy have more important things to do? By making an official complaint about a fashion stunt, it is tarnishing the prestige of the embassy and, in my opinion, "hurting the reputation of Chinese diplomats."

China could use a good dose of humour. Not every joke about China should "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" (a phrase in itself, as I have mentioned before, is a vast generalization that turns independent, thinking adults into six-year-old children). China pirates goods, and everybody knows it. Just laugh at it, and get on with your day.

One commenter on Japundit summed it up nicely: because the product is in limited edition, somebody in China has probably already copied it anyway.