Chinese state media has weighed in on the row over a racist washing powder advertisement which has caused a major stir online, blaming the West for introducing racism to China and dismissing the prejudice in the ad as a "careless mistake".
An editorial in the Global Times newspaper, which is published by the same group that publishes the People's Daily, the official organ of the ruling Communist Party, said racism had only become a problem in China since the country started to open up to the West.
"Since racism is not a common social problem in China, it is a surprise to witness such an enthusiastic uproar over this individual case," ran the commentary by Liu Zhun in the English-language edition of the Global Times.
“There is no doubt that from a Western perspective, Qiaobi’s ad is a blatant display of racism. However, unlike many developed countries that were brutal colonisers and engaged in the slave trade, racism is not an innate problem in Chinese society.”
In the advertisement, a Chinese homemaker flirts with a black man, then pushes him into the washing machine after dosing him with Qiaobi detergent. She sits on the machine before he emerges as a fair-skinned Asian man.
The ad was circulated on the Chinese social network WeChat late last week and has racked up 9.3 million views.
The Shanghai Leishang Cosmetics company which produced the ad apologised for the content, having initially blamed the controversy on foreign media being too sensitive.
“From ancient times to nowadays, the country has barely been troubled by race problems. It has only emerged in recent years as China opens up to more people from overseas, and more western world views start to make an impact on Chinese social consciousness, which have caused some misunderstandings,” the editorial said.
The ad was based on “a collective unconsciousness of racism”, the editorial said.
The author went on to say the western media's response to the "careless" ad exposed their own concerns with racism, "which simmer under the guise of political correctness" and went on to highlight the US's race problems, the rise of Donald Trump and also the far right.
“The world should realise racism is a global issue. The Western hemisphere should be more realistic in addressing their own problems over race rather than seeking relief by exaggerating other people’s careless mistake,” the editorial said.
