“Free Tibet” Flags Chinese Made
If I had thought of this first I would have written it as satire. But it occurred in Guangdong first.
You know those flags that have become the ire of most Chinese citizens advocating the breaking off of one of China’s biggest provinces? Many were made in China, unbeknownst to factory owners and workers. If the flag weren’t banned maybe they would have recognized it. From the BBC:
The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning…
The factory owner reportedly told police the emblems had been ordered from outside China, and he did not know that they stood for an independent Tibet.
Workers who had grown suspicious checked the meaning of the flag by going online.
Thousands of flags had already been packed for shipping.
Only in China.
[update: just discovered ImageThief got to this story first]
Rhys responds:
Posted: May 5th, 2008 at 8:58 pm →
I like this story - because it is a good example of the shades of grey that are in this whole debacle.
No matter how black and white some media outlets want to portray these Olympic related media affairs (and yes I am pointing the finger at Chinese media, though other media can take a little criticism) the reality is far more complex. The world is already interconnected in many ways.