Daily Lessons from Life 27 February 2013 - Incendiary Beijing restaurant sign triggers online fury

"Incendiary Beijing restaurant sign triggers online fury - AFP 27 February 2013

HANOI: A sign at a Beijing restaurant barring citizens of nations involved in maritime disputes with China -- along with dogs -- has triggered a wave of online outrage among Vietnamese and Filipinos.

The Beijing Snacks restaurant near the Forbidden City, a popular tourist spot, has posted a sign on its door reading "This shop does not receive the Japanese, the Philippines, the Vietnamese and dog(s)."

Photographs of the controversial sign have gone viral in Vietnamese-language forums and featured heavily in Philippine newspapers and websites on Wednesday.

The sign provoked tens of thousands of posts on Vietnamese social networking sites and newspaper comment threads.

Filipinos greeted the photo with a mixture of fury and amusement.

Philippine Foreign Department spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters in Manila Wednesday that the Beijing restaurant sign was simply one "private view" about the maritime dispute.

The sign's wording is particularly inflammatory as it recalls China's colonial era, when British-owned establishments barred Chinese from entering.

A sign supposedly reading "No Dogs and Chinese allowed" became part of Communist propaganda after it was said to have hung outside a park in Shanghai when Western powers controlled parts of China.

It has become part of Chinese folklore and featured in the 1972 Bruce Lee film "Fists of Fury" -- but many historical experts say no such sign ever existed.

The controversial Beijing sign was still in place Wednesday, according to the restaurant owner who gave only his surname of Wang.

"No officials have contacted me about it. This is my own conduct," Wang told AFP."

Is Mr Wang for real?

Lessons for me are:

1. sometimes some people are not very clear about what is being 'famous' and what is being 'infamous'. Or some do know and did it precisely because of that: being 'infamous' is acceptable as long as he or she is KNOWN by as many people as possible!!;

2. regardless of if this is just some cheapskate publicity stunt, the telling point in this report as at the time of this report anyway is that: 'No officials have contacted me about (the sign)!'. In a land where the authorities are ever so keen to shut down this and that whenever they feel offended or inappropriate, NOTHING is done so far. I WONDER if there is more than meet the eyes. :-);

3. the most regretful and more TRAGIC part about this is the 'supposedly once used on the Chinese by their foreign colonial masters in China' sign by the Chinese on other nationalities. Is this patriotism or nationalism? Is this healthy? Is this a form of sickness that will infatuate anyone whose sense of his or her own nation as being 'powerful' or 'very powerful'? In fact, should the OFFICIALS be visiting Mr Wang and politely and civilly ask him to take down the OFFENDING SIGN to show his PATRIOTISM?

Think about it. A big and powerful nation should have citizens who behaved like one - with abundance of self-confidence and a ton of humility.