{"id":1173168,"date":"2021-12-30T16:34:56","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T21:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1173168"},"modified":"2021-12-30T16:34:59","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T21:34:59","slug":"china-declares-war-on-western-brands-for-using-asian-models","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-declares-war-on-western-brands-for-using-asian-models\/","title":{"rendered":"China Declares War on Western Brands for Using Asian Models"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchina-declares-war-on-western-brands-for-using-asian-models%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1173168&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>The Chinese Communist Party is waging an increasingly hysterical \u2013 and, thanks to its dangerous economic leverage, largely successful \u2013 war against Western companies for using Asian models in their advertisements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The opening shots in the war were fired in November when Chinese state media <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/asia\/2021\/11\/19\/dior-pulls-chinese-photographers-work-after-communists-complain\/\"><span>savaged<\/span><\/a><span> French fashion house Christian Dior for placing a photo of a Chinese woman holding one of its handbags at a Shanghai art show.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>The photo \u2013 which was taken by a Chinese photographer \u2013 supposedly made \u201cChinese consumers feel uncomfortable\u201d because the model had \u201cspooky eyes, gloomy face, and Qing Dynasty-styled nail armor.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">French fashion brand <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Dior?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Dior<\/a> continued to face a lingering controversy on Chinese social media over a recent photo accused of smearing the image of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Chinese?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Chinese<\/a> women, with some Chinese netizens demanding an explanation from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dior?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Dior<\/a> as well as the photographer. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N7KEiXVSEp\">https:\/\/t.co\/N7KEiXVSEp<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0w05fnmF3B\">pic.twitter.com\/0w05fnmF3B<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Global Times (@globaltimesnews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/globaltimesnews\/status\/1461061741543141385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 17, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Chinese state news outlets responded to the Dior photo with surprising venom, accusing the company of imposing Western \u201cstereotypes\u201d of Chinese beauty and tradition on their Asian models.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>These convoluted theories were heavy on spittle, but light on explanations for why Dior would want to deliberately insult a huge number of potential customers. While Party leadership spun fantastic allegations of racism and cultural imperialism, most of the average Chinese \u201cnetizens\u201d who contributed to the \u201ccontroversy\u201d merely criticized the Dior photo as weird and ugly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Dior removed the photo from the Shanghai exhibit after a few days of pressure, but the Chinese regime was just getting warmed up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The next target was squinty or exaggeratedly slanted eyes, a crusade that began just before Christmas when a Chinese food brand called Three Squirrels <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202112\/1243401.shtml\"><span>used a model<\/span><\/a><span> with such eyes to hawk its products.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19303258\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/08a136ce-04e4-49ce-909c-0259ab5d168f.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19303258\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/08a136ce-04e4-49ce-909c-0259ab5d168f.jpeg\" alt=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202112\/1243401.shtml\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Three Squirrels&nbsp;<span>advertisement (screenshot from Weibo)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Three Squirrels insisted it meant no offense and said its model personally prefers to use makeup that accentuates the slant of her eyes, but Chinese state media blasted the company for supposedly following in Dior\u2019s footsteps and playing into the same Western stereotypes of Chinese women.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Once again, no one bothered explaining why a Chinese food company would join a sinister Western campaign to make Chinese women look ugly. Some Chinese academics suggested Three Squirrels underestimated the degree of psychic pain felt by the Chinese public after Dior\u2019s photo triggered them.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>The company also got in trouble for using the image of Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong in its ads. Chinese law prohibits using the image of dead Party leaders for commercial purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>No sooner had the denunciations of Three Squirrels rolled off the presses than Chinese state media turned against automaker Mercedes-Benz for using a model with narrow, slanted eye makeup in one of its ads.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<div id=\"attachment_19303338\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cd126b4d-15cc-4855-ae36-4996002b4d97.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19303338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cd126b4d-15cc-4855-ae36-4996002b4d97.jpeg\" alt=\"Screenshot of video from Beijing Evening News\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em><span>Mercedes-Benz advertisement. (<\/span>Screenshot of video from Beijing Evening News)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>China\u2019s state-run <\/span><i><span>Global Times<\/span><\/i> <span>on Tuesday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202112\/1243631.shtml\">quoted<\/a> some Chinese social media users who thought these sudden \u201ccontroversies\u201d over advertising images had become absurd and politicized, but a hashtag on social media platform Weibo for trashing Mercedes-Benz still racked up 170 million views in a matter of days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As with the Three Squirrels imbroglio, some of the commenters did not see any reason to be offended by the Mercedes-Benz image, but they thought it was unappealing. Others got with the Communist Party line.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe premise is that Chinese cannot let the West shape our aesthetics. For those malicious slander, we should maintain sufficient vigilance and counter-attack,\u201d explained a social media user quoted by the <\/span><i><span>Global Times.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Mercedes-Benz did not make a public comment on the controversy, but it quietly deleted the ad from its Weibo account.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Wednesday, the <\/span><i><span>Global Times <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globaltimes.cn\/page\/202112\/1243670.shtml\"><span>took<\/span><\/a><span> Italian fashion house Gucci to task for using \u201can Asian-looking model with small eyes, \u2018unconventional\u2019 makeup, an exaggerated nose ring, and a leather whip in her hand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19303250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/0ecc2a08-16ed-4574-86fa-9abc38b6fb79.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19303250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/0ecc2a08-16ed-4574-86fa-9abc38b6fb79.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"619\" height=\"586\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Twitter\/Gucci<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cAfter the poster came under the spotlight on China\u2019s social media platform Sina Weibo, the Global Times found on Wednesday that the luxury brand had hidden the model\u2019s photos on its Weibo account, only showing photos of the bag, while on Twitter both the model and the bag were visible,\u201d the <\/span><i><span>Global Times <\/span><\/i><span>wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Chinese Communist paper took this as evidence Gucci has a \u201cguilty conscience\u201d and knew its photo would \u201cirritate the Chinese audience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The <\/span><i><span>Global Times <\/span><\/i><span>found a Chinese academic to cobble together a painfully crude political narrative out of these \u201cAsian Face\u201d controversies:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span>Zhu Wei, vice director of the Communication Law Research Center at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Wednesday that \u201cIf we don\u2019t oppose such discriminatory labels, there may be more Western enterprises coming up with these images thinking it\u2019s a \u2018key for gaining exposure\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cLike the term \u2018nigger\u2019 can\u2019t appear in a Hollywood movie, in fact, the West knows where our taboo is, but it is still willing to touch upon it,\u201d Zhu said. \u201cThis is extremely disrespectful to our culture. The disgust and revulsion expressed by the whole society toward this kind of insult should be heard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is time for the West to hear such opposition, which is the simplest sign of the popular will, Zhu said.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Overseas critics have several theories for why the Chinese Communist Party is suddenly so obsessed with \u201cAsian Face\u201d advertising for luxury goods. Some market analysts <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessoffashion.com\/briefings\/china\/chinas-booming-luxury-market-wont-be-smooth-sailing-next-year\/\"><span>wonder<\/span><\/a><span> if the Communists are beating up on fashion designers to make the Chinese public less interested in luxury goods, perhaps because they fear an economic downturn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Others see the Communists flexing their \u201csharp power\u201d muscles and slapping around foreign brands just to remind them it can be done, as when a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/life\/fashion_style\/opinion\/2019\/08\/19\/the-real-reason-fashion-brands-are-apologizing-to-china.html\"><span>different wave of controversies<\/span><\/a><span> led to boycott threats against fashion houses in 2019.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If this was the Communist Party\u2019s thinking, it must be pleased with the results, as every one of the foreign fashion houses \u2013 and the China-based Three Squirrels food brand \u2013 quickly and quietly pulled the \u201ccontroversial\u201d images.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chinese Communist Party is waging an increasingly hysterical \u2013 and, thanks to its dangerous economic leverage, largely successful \u2013 war against Western companies for using Asian models in their &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1173168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}