China Local News
Online Anger over Inappropriate Toast by Dutch Watch Brand Executive at Chinese Dinner Party
This is how NOT to do a toast in Dutch!
UPDATE: FYI – the videos relating to this incident have been taken offline after the publication of this article. There are no active video links in this article.
The Amsterdam-based watch & jewelry brand Rosefield has recently come under fire within the Chinese community in the Netherlands after a video went viral showing Rosefield’s CEO and its Head of Sourcing proposing an unusual toast at a Chinese dinner party.
The video, that was viewed over 173,000 times on Dutch site Dumpert.nl, shows a woman in a white blouse bringing out a toast, saying:
“In Dutch, we say ‘ganbei’ or ‘cheers’ in this way, and it would be nice if you all can say the same, we say: ‘dikke lul.‘”
The people at the table then proceed to toast saying “Dikke lul” – which, in fact, is not the Dutch word for ‘cheers’ but for ‘big dick,’ something that the Chinese people at the table are seemingly not aware of.
On WeChat, Chinese-language newspaper Asian News (华侨新天地) reported about the video and identified the Dutch woman and man at the table as the CPO and CEO of Rosefield Watches, a fast-growing luxury brand that is active in various countries.
Asian News describes the incident as a way of “ridiculing Chinese friends,” and writes it has triggered anger online.
Asian News (华侨新天地) is a Chinese language newspaper founded in 1992. It is mainly distributed in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Its WeChat account has some 120,200 followers, and the post on the ‘cheers’ video was among its most-well read on WeChat this week.
The blog post noted that ever since the ‘dikke lul’ video has gone viral in the Netherlands, it has become one of the first results showing up when searching for the vulgar expression ‘dikke lul’ on Google.
Although it is not clear where the video was filmed and how it ended up on short video site Dumpert, it is rumored in WeChat groups that it was recorded during the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair earlier this month, and that the Chinese guests are business relations of the Dutch brand (unconfirmed).
The comment section on the Dumpert site shows that although some Dutch commenters think the video is funny, there are many who find it “vulgar,” “rude,” and “distasteful.”
Although many (overseas) Chinese expressed anger in various WeChat groups – some expressing regret over a Rosefield watch they recently purchased – the Asia News blog does remind readers that we do not know the context of the video, and whether or not there was a certain pretext or common understanding to the joke.
Nevertheless, the blog states, this kind of behavior is not professional and if a company such as Rosefield wants to earn money in China, “it should also respect Chinese culture and people.”
Although there have been ample discussions about the controversial video on Wechat, there are no online discussions about this issue on Weibo at the time of writing.
Over the past year, many foreign brands became a focus for controversy in China.
In November of 2018, Italian fashion house D&G faced consumer outrage and backlash on Chinese social media for a video that was deemed ‘racist’ to China and for insulting remarks about Chinese people allegedly made by designer Stefano Gabbana.
Swiss investment bank UBS sparked controversy in June for a column which mentioned “Chinese pigs.”
Over this summer, various foreign companies apologized to China for listing ‘Hong Kong’ as a separate country or region on its websites and/or t-shirts.
Still curious about how to actually say ‘cheers’ in Dutch? It’s ‘proost’ and this is how you pronounce it correctly.
By Manya Koetse
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China Local News
Boy, 15, Fatally Beaten and Buried by Group of Minors in Shaanxi
The heinous crime has sparked discussions on the problem of campus violence and China’s criminal liability age.
A brutal incident that took place in the city of Xingping in Shaanxi province is top trending on Chinese social media today.
On October 29, a 15-year-old boy by the name of Yuan (袁) was fatally beaten and buried by a group of six people, all minors.
Beijing News reports that Yuan was a second-year student at the Xianyang Xingping Jincheng Middle School. He had taken time off from school and had a temporary job in Xi’an before the incident occurred.
Yuan’s father told reporters that his son had returned to Xingping on October 29. A small group of minors, including four students, allegedly demanded money from Yuan, which he refused. It is also reported that a conflict occurred because Yuan added one of the minors to his phone’s ‘blacklist’ (电话拉黑).
According to various news reports, the group of minors attacked the boy with a pickaxe after which he became unconscious. They then brought him over to a nearby hotel and discovered he was dead the next day. They later buried his lifeless body in a pit near the school premises.
The location where Yuan’s body was buried, photo by Beijing News.
On November 2, other students who had heard of the crime reported it to the police. Yuan’s body was found in the pit shortly after officers arrived at the scene.
Local authorities released a statement about the case on November 10, in which they stated the suspects have been detained and that the case is still under investigation.
Various sources on Weibo claim that Yuan previously also suffered beatings at school, with severe school bullying being the main reason for the 15-year-old to temporarily drop out of school.
In a video report by Pear Video, Yuan’s father says they are still unsure of how their son died, suggesting he might have still been alive when he was buried in the pit.
China has been dealing with an epidemic of school violence for years. In 2016, Chinese netizens already urged authorities to address the problem of extreme bullying in schools, partly because minors under the age of 16 rarely face criminal punishment for their actions.
On social media site Weibo and on the news app Toutiao, many commenters are not just angered about the incident but also focus on China’s laws regarding the criminal responsibility of minors.
Some write: “Our criminal laws for minors should protect minors instead of protecting juvenile offenders!”
China’s criminal liability age is currently set at 14. Last month, Global Times reported on a proposal to lower the age of criminal liability in China from 14 to 12 in response to concerns about an alleged increase in juvenile violence.
“These minors need to be severely punished,” multiple commenters wrote: “Who knows who else they might hurt?”
By Manya Koetse
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China Food & Drinks
Viral Video Exposes Wuhan Canteen Kitchen Food Malpractices
Boots in the food bowl, meat from the floor: this Wuhan college canteen is making a food safety mess.
A video that exposes the poor food hygiene inside the kitchen of a Wuhan college canteen has been making its rounds on Chinese social media these days.
The video shows how a kitchen staff member picks up meat from the floor to put back in the tray, and how another kitchen worker uses rain boots to ‘wash’ vegetables in a big bowl on the ground, while another person is smoking.
The video was reportedly shot by someone visiting the canteen of the Wuhan Donghu University (武汉东湖学院) and was posted on social media on November 7.
According to various news sources, including Toutiao News, the school has confirmed that the video was filmed in their canteen, stating that those responsible for the improper food handling practices have now been fired.
Can imagine the students at Wuhan Donghu University were not happy to see this behind the scenes footage from their canteen – kitchen staff smoking, picking up food from the floor and putting it back in the tray, and using their boots to mix vegetables in the bowl 😵 pic.twitter.com/vV9NnsQX6v
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) November 8, 2020
The Wuhan Donghu University also posted a statement on their Weibo account on November 8, saying it will strengthen the supervision of its canteen food handling practices.
“The students at this school will probably vomit once they see this footage,” some commenters on Weibo wrote.
Wuhan Donghu University is an undergraduate private higher education institution established in 2000. The school has approximately 16,000 full-time undergraduate students.
“I’m afraid that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” one popular comment said, receiving over 25,000 likes.
Students from other universities also expressed concerns over the food handling practices in their own canteens, while some said they felt nauseous for having had lunch at the Wuhan canteen in question.
By Manya Koetse
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Darlene January
September 13, 2019 at 6:17 pm
Racism exists everywhere in this world and always initiated by those who use their white privilege to insult or berate other cultures. Regardless of the reasons why this video was captured, it was still captured.
Michael
September 20, 2019 at 7:59 pm
So for you there IS something called “white privilede”?
Nancy Wang
September 14, 2019 at 4:03 am
So disrespectful. On their social channels Rosefield is all about inclusivity, female empowerment, but here they show their true colors. The Chinese apparently are good enough to produce their products, but clearly there is a lack of respect on the side of Rosefield in this business relationship.
Lisa
September 14, 2019 at 9:15 pm
Yes, you are right. This is unacceptable, even primitive behavior, such companies should be excluded from any cooperation-nothing justifies such behavior.
Sunny
September 19, 2019 at 9:21 pm
I watch the Rosefield ‘big dick’ video in a wechat group too today, it has offended many people. In the group someone mention that the department store Nordstrom has decided to no longer work with watch brand Rosefield because of this inappropriate behaviour by the CEO. I think it is the only right decision.
Amy
September 23, 2019 at 10:43 pm
I read today that Bloomingdales did the same thing: no more Rosefield product at Bloomingdales. I am not sure if these two Rosefield employees will be allowed to ever enter China again in the future.