Chinese citizens, media and embassy blasted Sweden’s national broadcaster for “insulting China” during a late-night satirical talk show, which aired a segment filled with racist stereotypes that cast Chinese tourists as uncouth and distastefully ridiculed Chinese farmer culture.
The Chinese Embassy in Sweden criticized the program, which aired on September 21 night, saying it “spread racism and xenophobia, and incited racial hatred toward China.”
“Relevant program staff from Sveriges Television [SVT] argued that this is an entertainment program, an argument which is totally unacceptable and we firmly reject,” the embassy said, urging SVT to immediately apologize.
The program Swedish News, a comedy program that includes satirical “news” reports and is broadcast on SVT, Sweden’s national public TV broadcaster, produced a satirical “information video” that featured a “prohibited activity” poster outside a historical building showing a squatting Chinese farmer in a straw hat holding a bowl and chopsticks while defecating.
The “report” in the segment also condescendingly instructs Chinese tourists how to use the washbasin in a toilet. The host in the video called Chinese people “racists” and said Sweden advocates equal rights for all, but that “doesn’t apply to Chinese people.”
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Monday called the SVT program bigoted, prejudiced and an attempt to provoke Chinese people.
Source: GlobalTimes
