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The future is now in the land of the rising sun

by Rick Martin, Japan

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Footage of China's Hu with Toshiba ad is banned

Nov 4, 2009 22:38

Many of you will remember the controversy caused back in October after Chinese Netizens complained that their National Day Parade was tainted by an ad for a Japanese company. Hu Jintao's ceremonial car ride happened to pass in front of a huge Toshiba billboard, which apparently no one had the foresight to cover up.

Well, it seems China is now making every effort to cover up this embarrassment. The latest regulations from the Beijing Ministry of Media and Communications have forbidden televising or publishing this video clip online.

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If you'd like to view the original clip, check it out here [auto-starts at 5:42].

China's PR department would do well to take such an embarrassment and spin it to their advantage. The Beijing-Tokyo Forum just finished up in China, and one can't help but think that this kind of ban undermines such cooperative efforts between the two countries.

How about a public assertion that Japan is an important partner for China, and that it doesn't matter that Hu passed in front of the Toshiba billboard? How about a little soft power up in this joint?

Wishful thinking, I guess...

Source: eChinaCities

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sirsteven

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sirsteven says...
It would indeed have been nice to see this ignored or taken lightly by the powers-that-be; but no: they got all 'We RESOLUTELY OPPOSE this" all over again. Good grief...

Nov 05, 2009 23:42

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About Rick Martin

After a few years in China studying Mandarin and watching the Chinese Tech scene, Rick Martin has escaped to Japan and is loving every minute of it. When he's not working on his pet projects, 2JPN and DS Ninja, he can usually be found exploring all things tech in the land of the rising sun. Drop him a line on Twitter, Facebook, or contact him via Email.