China Insight

Satirical Swedish TV Show Making Fun of Chinese Adds Fuel to Fire after Tourist Row

The show, that tells Chinese tourists not to defecate in the streets, has been denounced by the Chinese Embassy in Sweden.

Published

8 years ago

September 23, 2018

What's on Weibo Team

After a controversial incident involving Chinese tourists in Stockholm, this time it is a Swedish TV show that is triggering waves of comments on Chinese social media for “insulting Chinese.” Diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Stockholm seem to rise as the Chinese embassy has published another safety alert for Chinese citizens in Sweden today.

A satirical Swedish TV show is accused of “insulting Chinese” by Chinese mediaand netizens for a sketch that was featured…

Up Next

Over 300 Children Sent to Hospital after Eating Expired Food in Kindergarten, Netizens Express Disbelief

Don't Miss

An Overview of Chinese Nominations at Busan Film Festival (Part II)

What's on Weibo Team

Stories that are authored by the What's on Weibo Team are the stories that multiple authors contributed to. Please check the names at the end of the articles to see who the authors are.

11 Comments

Richard

September 23, 2018 at 9:43 am

Yes don’t go to Sweden and that include every Chinese people around the world, not just Chines from mainland China.

Reply
- Clive
  
  September 24, 2018 at 8:31 am
  
  I agree, don’t waste your tourism money on a country of racists. Awful weather all year round, non-existent culture aside from stinky canned fish.
  
  Reply
- No thanks, Swedenn's cold and liberal PC. Sweden Women=Black and Arab Property
  
  September 25, 2018 at 9:49 am
  
  No one goes to Sweden anymore lol, its already 70% Muslim Jihad beards from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan not to mention the Youth gangs, Ethiopia Refugees, Sudan Refugees, Turk immigrants, Balktans and Russian youth hooligans taking over.
  
  Blacks and Muslims already fucks an average of 21-24 Different Swedish girls there within their life time anyway, its paradise for them but a shithole stench even for their neighbours Denmark and Norway.
  
  Reply
terebethian

September 23, 2018 at 6:52 pm

wait so did the swedes figure out how to keep hordes of godawful chinese tourists out of their country?! Point to the Swedes!

Reply
W.T.Pooh

September 24, 2018 at 5:37 am

This is what you get after a generation of CCP cultural destruction [aka ‘revolution’], indoctrination, brainwashing and information blockade, these robots are no longer a social [human] being fit for the world community, they have no idea of reality, propriety, social norms, manners etc.
.
All they know is CCP party politics, and the philosophy of “struggle”, therefore incessant complaints, demands, retaliation…It’s a tragedy to see a fifth of the world population turned into mindless savages in mere one generation, and from one of the oldest civilization for that matter!
.
Sigh!

Reply
Beth

September 27, 2018 at 5:24 am

This comment section is horrid. I love What’s on Weibo, as it helps me as a student learn to read more realistic language and slang, and it’s usually well written and informational. I’m disappointed that such a nice site can’t moderate better against such obvious racism or sexism. What’s the use of allowing comments referring to women as property and sluts or whores or as Chinese people as inhuman savages? They’re not adding anything to any meaningful discussion, and allowing this kind of hate only encourages them to feel entitled to share it everywhere. I can understand a website that often deals with censorship in China feeling hesitant to censor anyone themselves, but come on. Having community standards isn’t going to impede on anyone’s freedom of speech.

As for the article, I think the headline nailed it pretty nicely. All this “satire” did was add fuel to a fire, which I’m sure is exactly what the creators wanted. Who cares about human decency or the like when you can get more viewers or ad revenue? It just really sucks that this is further distracting everyone from the Dalai Lama’s visit and China’s alleged “punishment” of Sweden. The only people I saw talking about his initial visit were the far-right because they were happy he said that refugees shouldn’t stay in Europe permanently or they would make Europe lose its cultures.

Reply
- admin
  
  September 27, 2018 at 5:41 am
  
  Hi Beth, so sorry that What’s on Weibo has disappointed you. As this site is still run by one single person, we cannot do everything at the same time. We could close this entire comment section off, but would rather not. If you like to see improvement of this site, we welcome any help in the shape of contributed help or donations, so we can focus on the things we should really be focusing on, such as bringing the latest China trends to you, instead of moderating comments. Thanks for your support. Warm regards!
  
  Reply
http://www.nvidia.com/

September 28, 2018 at 5:29 am

Niceⅼy, what does Gߋd like?? Lee added. ?I іmply, we like cookies
and cɑrtoons and toys, but what kind of thingѕ are enjoyɑble for God??

It was a question that for a minute Mommy and Daddy needed to suppose about.

Reply

China Insight

Mbappé, Mao, and the Joke That Shall Not Be Named

Mbappé’s favorite Mao meme sparked major backlash in China. More on what the controversy reveals about political red lines, online humor, and censorship.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2026

Manya Koetse

RESOU 热搜 | What’s Trending in China, Explained

Here, I briefly unpack the stories making waves on Chinese social media and share what stands out to me. Don’t miss an update: become a subscriber to Eye on Digital China today.

Oh oh oh, Mbappé, all those goals, yet you lost so many points on Chinese social media over the past 48 hours.

Following his 100th goal for Real Madrid during El Clásico and finishing second on Ballon d’Or night, French football player Mbappé is all the talk on Chinese social media — not for his achievements, but for what is seen as crossing a major red line in an online interview.

On Tuesday night, a text came in from Ruixin: “I am wide awake tonight and somehow witnessed live how the footballer Kylian Mbappé was getting blocked and totally canceled on Chinese social media for his comments about Mao Zedong over the past, like, three hours 😅”

I quickly grabbed my phone and saw the flood of Mbappé posts rapidly coming in, and it was clear that people were very cross with him.

Although it was already clear that this might not blow over any time soon, by early Wednesday morning it became painfully clear how the controversy had snowballed. Dongpeng Beverage Group (东鹏), one of the many Chinese companies that signed the famous sportsman as its brand ambassador, publicly stated that it was cutting all commercial ties with Mbappé. Soon, others followed.

Dongpeng Beverage Group (东鹏): the first in a string of companies to cut ties with French footballer Kylian Mbappé.

Mbappé’s fall from grace in China has been sudden and spectacular, like a major avalanche of backlash that unfolded in one night, and it can all be traced back to one segment of an interview the footballer previously did on a French YouTube show (The Bridge) that resurfaced online — initially through Reddit and X, and then on Chinese social media apps, like football platform Dongqiudi (懂球帝).

In that segment, when asked about his favorite meme, Mbappé replied that one of the memes he finds funniest is:

🗣️ “the one where they put my face on some guy, a Chinese dictator. That really makes me laugh, I use it with my friends all the time.”

The interview segment where Mbappé shares his favorite meme: his face photoshopped onto the face of a “Chinese dictator.”

The show, created by Mbappé’s Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni, added the image Mbappé referred to: his face photoshopped on a Mao propaganda visual. It’s part of a series of memes that emerged in 2024 in which Mbappé’s face is edited onto the faces of dictators.¹

Chapter Dive

The French Protests, Viewed from China: Five Narratives on Chinese Social Media

From the decline of Europe to historical karma: these 5 narratives reveal how Chinese social media discusses the recent unrest in France.

Published

1 week ago

October 25, 2026

Manya Koetse

Originally published in the Eye on Digital China newsletter on Sunday, October 25, 2026.

The protests in France have been trending in China all week. The ways in which they are being discussed perhaps reveal more about Chinese views of France and Europe—and about China’s own place in the world today—than about the protests themselves. Here are five of the main narratives shaping the discussion.

Over the past week, the widespread protests and unrest in France have been trending on Chinese social media. From October 18 to today, turmoil in Paris and other cities consistently appeared in the top trending lists on Weibo, Kuaishou, and other apps, with Chinese netizens and commentators discussing the situation in various ways under numerous hashtags.

The topic remained trending all week not only because of the October 17–18 riots and their aftermath, but also because of the new round of protests on October 24, for which French authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and the Chinese embassy in France issued new warnings.

Here, we’ll take a closer look at five dominant narratives surrounding the protests in France on Chinese social media, and what this says about Chinese perceptions of France and Europe, from common ideas about the decline of Europe to the protests being a form of “historical karma.”^[1]

1. “France Has Lost Control”: A Nation in Crisis

How can a developed country like France fail to maintain basic order? One dominant framing of the recent protests on Chinese social media is that they demonstrate the French state’s inability to keep the situation under control, indicating a crisis of governance and security.

One of the highest-ranking hashtags among more than 300 trending topics on Chinese social media apps related to the unrest in France is: “France is out of control” (法国失控了). Along with hashtags like “France is in chaos again,” that hashtag first came up last Sunday on Weibo during a weekend filled with looting, arson, destruction, and violence by groups of rioters in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, and elsewhere.

The perceived weakness of President Macron’s leadership was highlighted on Chinese social media through memes and jokes mocking the leader for attending a Celine Dion concert right before the situation escalated. A commentary on Sina compared the concert to company executives holding a celebration banquet and handing out bonuses just before the firm collapses, framing the riots as a “run on…