Oh well that’a all right then. As Nazi swastikas and Imperial Japanese flags are only representative of positive character traits then they are fine. Problem solved.
Some Chinese just don’t get it. 
BTW, there’s a Chinese boutique in TienMu selling these shirts.
Hong Kong fashion company causes swastika uproar
German and Israeli diplomats have lashed out at a Hong Kong fashion company for using swastikas and other Nazi party symbols.
The firm, izzue.com., designed a range of clothes with Nazi symbols and launched new decorations this past week in its 14 stores.
taipeitimes.com/News/world/a … 2003063048
Israeli diplomat slams HK bar for Nazi photos
An Israeli diplomat yesterday slammed a Hong Kong karaoke bar for hanging photographs of Adolf Hitler and a Nazi execution on its walls, the second time this month that he has criticized the display of Holocaust symbols in the territory.
“It is way beyond my understanding, how people can enjoy a drink and sing karaoke whilst viewing pictures of executions carried out by Nazi soldiers,” Israeli Consul-General Eli Avidar said in a statement.
“The use of Nazi symbols in any way is wrong,” he said.
Bar Pacific, which is popular among young locals, has been decorated with photographs of Hitler and Nazi soldiers for four years, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.
One of the pictures showed a Nazi soldier shooting a man on the edge of a pit already piled high with execution victims.
Bar Pacific spokeswoman Eva Tse told the Post no one had complained in the bar about the photographs.
“Customers enjoy it. It helps them know more about war,” she said. She told the newspaper that the bar was prepared to remove the execution picture.
To many Chinese, the strength of a nation is more important than the lives/or deaths of its citizens (but only as applied to other people). that’s why some chinese will go as far as adulation of the Japanese and German Empires, because of their “success” “power” and “strength”
and to some, 6 million jews, gypsies, and “undesirables” in about 6-8 years isn’t that much compared to say 10 million or 20+ million in a famine, a rebellion, the Boxer Revolt, the Yellow Turbans,etc.
these nazi fashion things pop up every two to three years in Asia, if not BAngkok, it’s Hong Kong, or Tokyo or yes, lovely Taipei.
Who wants to predict when the next Nazi fashion design thingie will occur here? I say November 2003. and again April 2005. and on and on, forever. They just don’t get it over here. and never will. so it’s best to just roll over and smile. no real harm done. it’s not racxist or antiemitic or antigerman or anything. it’s just plain hard ignorance of something that doesn’t concern Asians. never will. funny, but the story never goes away.
Why are Nazi helmits so popular in Taiwan? At first I thought it was a only a few people who had them, but there are quite a number. I don’t think people are ignorant about what it symbolizes. Not long ago I saw a Volkswagen Beetle covered with Nazi symbols (Swastika as used by Hitler, Hess and co.) and propaganda. It looked like an expensive paint job.
Ever heard of that restaurant modeled after a Nazi internment camp? And did you ever see the merchandise that establishment was selling?
As stated on their T-shirt:
“Worship an idol…an iconoclast…”
With a picture of Hitler.
How about the Presidential election smear campaign in which A-bian was demonified by the KMT as a Hitler/Bin Laden type?
Just your classic case of Taiwanese ignorance towards things outside of this island, even something as terrible as the Holocaust. The helmet and symbol thing is just the tip of the iceberg. :raspberry: :fume:
ah, that Nazi Swastika that you are refering to is a Chinese character. It means “ten”, as in the ten heavenly stems. It may be budhist, as far as I know. Anyway, it is at the wrong angle to be a Swastika.
I’ve seen the same thing as keith, too. And it is most definitely not the buddhist symbol or a character. It is the Nazi version, as well as being on a replica of the old German motorcycle helmets of that period.
Can’t say the same of the propoganda stuff, though.
Buddhist Swastika
Four arms of Buddhist Swastika = 4 stages of existence: (1) Hell; (2) Insects, plants, animals; (3) Human; (4) Gods
For comparison, here is a Nazi Swastika.
As far as I know, the Swastika has its origins in India. The Sanskrit word is almost the same as the English word. The one used by Hitler was the upside-down form of the Hindu one. From India it must have spread to China with Bhudism. It is believed that both Europeans and Indians have common Aryans ancestors. The Nazis must have taken it as a symbol of their ancient past.
The Swastikas I saw were of the Nazi kind.
Ok ok I get it…but really I know the difference between the two, and I stick by my guns. 
As far as I know the helmets were used prior to the time of the Nazi regime. However, I think it is usually asssociated with them in particular and not the German army in general.
I should have known the topic has been raised before, bur at least I’ve learned to spell “helmet” and “budhist” in the process.
Almost. 
That was a mere slip of the finger man. …I knew it was buddhist as soon as I checked it on google after reading your post. This is an example of Kaizen at work. Improve, improve, improve…
And it takes a capital.
Two seconds after I posted that reply, I could see it coming. Thanks Sandman. Every day in every way, I’m getting acurater and acurater.
We learn something new everyday.
Darn, I did the “budhist” thing too. 
Where are these Nazi symbols anyway?
Is it just a Taipei thing?
I met a teenage Taiwanese boy the other day who had a swastika tattooed onto his arm. (Looked like he did it himself.) I asked him if he was Buddhist. No, he was a Christian!
[quote=“Bassman”]Where are these Nazi symbols anyway?
Is it just a Taipei thing?[/quote]
Nope, there was a big shitstorm in HK about a similar thing a couple of years ago, some pop idol posing in swastika-laden apparel and stuff… don’t remember the specs, but something like that…