Taiwan Offends African Allies

[quote]The government yesterday apologized for offending African diplomats, who were served soup in paper bowls decorated with a drawing of a black boy with a lion, giraffe and jellyfish. The diplomats were touring factories when they stopped at a seafood restaurant for lunch last week. The restaurant served them soup in the bowls, which depicted a smiling black boy waving a leaf surrounded by the animals. The officials walked out of restaurant, calling the drawing offensive. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) apologized for the incident, but added that the manufacturer of the bowls probably didn’t mean to belittle anyone with the drawing. “Taiwanese have been friendly to foreigners, and no one tried to offend our friends deliberately,” Lu said. The diplomats were from Swaziland, Malawi, Chad, Senegal and the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.
[/quote]
taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ … 2003250260

Hee hee! Another report had the officials claiming that the nappy-headed little felllow dressed in a loincloth and carrying a Zulu-type shield was actually an Oriental and that the dignitaries were getting worked up about nothing.
They obviously didn’t see the dishes in question, which have handy little captions underneath the pictures reading “giraffe,” “lion” and oops “African native.”

Yeah, My neighbor rides around on Duke 125cc wearing a motorcycle helmet that looks like a M1940 Heer Combat Helmet with Waffen-SS decals on it. Her head is a bit too small for it so she cinches down the chin strap in a way that makes her look she is ready for her own personal Malmedy.

People around the world are such insensitive assholes.

(Ah, the Global village, my singing feces serenades y’all.)

What is so insulting about lions, giraffes and sheild weilding African natives? Sounds pretty awesome to me. I suppose a pictures of Mt Kilaminjaro with a McDonalds on top or something would have been better.

I’m sure the diplomats will feel better when the get their checks. :wink:

Obviously the problem involved more than pictures on the paper bowls they were served .

ya think our african allies…giggle giggle…sorry…ya think they have been learning about chinese culture…“Be offended at something because they’ll feel bad and give you a hong bau.”

a mere hint of the “great vengance and furious anger” that will be awakened in Chad, Swaziland and Malawi should China ever attack Taiwan… i’m sure this ominous warning of the might of Taiwan’s African allies has not gone unnoticed in Beijing…

What is insulting is that this is how the world views Africa. Turn on the tv and the majority of time the report is starvation, (now)killing each other, and an exposes on Africa generally deal with the wild life that lives there. Never in my life have I seen a program that protrays Africans in a positive light. Of course there’s CNN’s African report on sat afternoons :unamused: but in general Africa/Africans are held in a poor light, and it’s gets exasperating to have to deal with such misconceptions over and over and over and over, even when you have ‘proven’ otherwise… Talking with my African friends, I have heard nothing of stories of how racist the TW are toward them. Which I have always found interesting considering that TW seems to have strong active business and volunteer ties to several African countries. Believe me, if this lunch had taken place in the States, and we had served plates that had old stereotypyes of Japanese on them , there would be an uproar…
Bottom line is, people are sensetive in how they like to be percived. Whether it’s true or not, at the core we all want to be acknowledged as someone of value and worth…

I was going to make scathing comments about the backwardness of Taiwanese and how they’re 50 years behind the developed world blah blah blah, until I discovered that its only four years since a famous British jam manufacturer dropped its “Robertson’s golliwog” brand image. Well, actually it dropped the “wog” part waaaaaay back in the … 1980s. :blush:

Not sure if this does not qualify as one of the most naive comments i have seen made on forumosa. Whilst Africa as a continent does have something to offer the world interms of natural resources, the individual countries have little to offer than there ability to implode in one way or another.

Whilst most of ordinary africans are not zealots and just want a peaceful life, far to many are hell bent on exacting retribution. Just look across Central and West Africa, it is a region that for a good number of years has been in civil turmoil. An element of the famine causes can legitamely be placed at the rotten and corrupt governments / dictators that control these countries.

Whilst the current public perception is untasteful, it is at least based on factual events etc and therefore to a certain degree accurate and not a misconception.

Aunt Jemima: Yeah or Nay?

(This is a syrup bottle)

I’m not sure about the bowls. I didn’t see the pictures, so maybe there was something of the ridiculous about the images. To me it’s like having a young kid wearing a cowboy hat, an apple pie, and an eagle on it.

It’s probably a good thing they didn’t go to a grocery store and see the Darlie toothpaste box…

But be that as it may, when someone takes offence at something you don’t mean in a negative way, you should apologize. I hope the diplomats understand and can accept the apology.

Very good, Sir! When your fairy godmother invites you round for a meal it is very bad form to complain about the crockery.

Just a few years ago we still had the Darkie toothpaste with a smiling Al Jolson here in Taiwan…

I saw the cups in question on TV last night, it did not seem offense at all. The fact of the matter is there are still many poeple in Africa that still live in the bush. This whole episode was way overblown.

[quote=“Traveller”]

Not sure if this does not qualify as one of the most naive comments I have seen made on forumosa. Whilst Africa as a continent does have something to offer the world interms of natural resources, the individual countries have little to offer than there ability to implode in one way or another.

Whilst most of ordinary africans are not zealots and just want a peaceful life, far to many are hell bent on exacting retribution. Just look across Central and West Africa, it is a region that for a good number of years has been in civil turmoil. An element of the famine causes can legitamely be placed at the rotten and corrupt governments / dictators that control these countries.

Whilst the current public perception is untasteful, it is at least based on factual events etc and therefore to a certain degree accurate and not a misconception.[/quote]

Traveller, I hope that your comment can be backed up with actually experience on the continent…RB what’s your point in putting those photos up? To incite, or educate? I suspect to incite…

All of the Chinese language TV reports that I saw took the angle that the diplomats were being overly sensitive. Almost every report started with something along the lines of “It’s really hard to imagine such a cute picture causing a problem but …”

I thought that the picture of the little loin-cloth wearing “African Native” was a bit stupid but the part that I thought was odd were the assumedly African animals on the cup. A lion, a giraffe, a monkey (I think) and, of course, a jellyfish!!

Not one Taiwanese person thought that the jellyfish was out of place due to not being particularly African or felt that its “spineless” nature could be offensive when placed in that type of context.

The owner of the factory that made the cups looked honestly bewildered when TV reporters were showing him newspaper reports of the offence caused by his products and asking him, “How do you feel?” (In fact, I felt a bit sorry for him, he truly seemed to have not intended to offend anyone.) His mistake I can understand and forgive instantly but the media here seemed to present the whole episode as foreigners being weird.

[quote=“Namahottie”]
Traveller, I hope that your comment can be backed up with actually experience on the continent…[/quote]

Nama, relax… Your skin is too thin.

it’s a sad matter of fact that most Central and West african countries are misruled to an unbelievable extent, and they have their leaders to thank for their misery. Nigeria was as rich as korea on a per capita basis up to 1982. Not quite so today, and they have their leaders and their lack of a structured society to thank for it. I do not doubt that msot Africans - like most Europeans, Americans and Asians - are friendly, nice, and open towards strangers.

For a person sharing some travel experiences in a written form, try to get “Dark Star Safari” by Paul Theroux. You will red more lame excuses for the predicament of most of Africa than you have done previously - ever. The favorite scapegoat is colonialism, with lack of donor funds being a second. (Having read that book, I will never give another dime to any company active in the Aid Industry again).

Very good, Sir! When your fairy godmother invites you round for a meal it is very bad form to complain about the crockery.[/quote]

I had to think about this…
:s

or more simply put: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you (and your crappy government*)

*if the shoe fits, that is

Nama, it sure can, spent 6 years on the continent, South Africa and Zimbabwe, as well as Nigeria and Kenya.