A Wu Tang Clan inspired T-shirt
Is causing another feud between China and Canada
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
Canada and China are feuding yet again—this time over the Wu Tang Clan.
Sort of.
First—I really hope you all remember the Wu Tang Clan, otherwise I’ll feel incredibly
old.
But even if you don’t remember them, all you need to know is they were a hip hop group
from the 90s.
Actually you don’t need to know that either.
All you really need to know is that this was their symbol.
Now, a Canadian diplomat in China ordered custom t-shirts that had *this* symbol on
it.
Wu Tang is replaced with Wuhan, the city in China.
And Chinese authorities are furious.
In fact, the issue made it all the way to China’s Foreign Ministry.
At a press conference on Monday, spokesman Wang Wenbin said China is, “shocked by this
and has lodged stern representations with the Canadian Embassy in China, demanding that
the Canadian side immediately thoroughly investigate the incident and give China a clear explanation.”
Why is the Chinese Communist Party freaking out about a t-shirt?
Well, it’s because they think the symbol represents a bat.
Some scientists believe the coronavirus pandemic came from a bat and spread in Wuhan.
So the Communist Party is taking the t-shirt design as a swipe at China.
They’re very sensitive.
A Canadian official told Reuters that “The T-shirt logo designed by a member of the Embassy
shows a stylized W, and is not intended to represent a bat.
It was created for the team of Embassy staff working on repatriation of Canadians from
Wuhan in early 2020.
We regret the misunderstanding.”
China’s foreign ministry replied by saying that Canada’s explanation was not convincing.
The guy who designed the t-shirt is Canadian diplomat Chad Hensler.
Was it just an innocent mistake?
Or was he making a reference to the coronavirus, bats, and Wuhan?
Well, former Canadian Ambassador to China David Mulroney jumped to Chad Hensler’s
defense.
In the trolliest way possible.
He tweeted, “I worked with Chad, who is smart, decent, dedicated.
We’re lucky to have him.
Not his fault if China goes batty over the Wu-Tang Clan’s logo.
Guilty conscience?”
Batty?
Interesting choice of words.
Of course China-Canada relations aren’t so hot right now.
At the end of 2018, Canada detained Meng Wanzhou the CFO of Huawei.
She’s been charged with violating US sanctions on Iran.
The Chinese Communist Party responded by kidnapping two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael
Spavor.
China has also made veiled threats to the 300,000 Canadians living in Hong Kong.
So China and Canada just do not get along.
Almost like...Shaolin and Wu Tang.
And now I’ll answer a question from one of you, a fan who supports China Uncensored
on the crowd funding website Patreon.
TallMan101 asks, “I don't understand using spiked clubs, don't they have guns?”
Ah, TallMan is talking about a deadly border clash between India and China back in June.
At least 20 Indian soldiers died and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were killed.
India accused Chinese soldiers of using nail-studded rods like this.
Pretty nasty.
But yeah, why not use guns?
Well, India and China have actually fought a war over these border disputes.
That was back in 1962.
In order to prevent escalations, both sides agreed that their troops on the border wouldn’t
be armed with guns.
And so melee weapons apparently are in vogue.
“Indian commanders acknowledge that their soldiers, too, now carry hand weapons, like
bamboo sticks and sling shots.”
Recently, there was yet another border fight.
Indian security officials told the Associated Press that there were clashes with sticks
and stones.
At least there was no name calling.
Thanks for your question TallMan.
And thank you for watching.
Have a question you want to ask me?
Support China Uncensored on patreon.com/ChinaUncensored.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell, see you next time.