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Diplomacy
ChinaDiplomacy

Row over Wu-Tang Clan spoof T-shirt deals fresh blow to China-Canada relations

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The relations between China and Canada took a new hit as they got entangled in a row over a T-shirt bearing an altered logo of the New York hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which China found offensive. Photo: Twitter
Amber Wangin Beijing
Relations between China and Canada took a new hit with a row over a T-shirt bearing an altered logo of the New York hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.
Chad Hensler, a Canadian embassy staff member, was reported by mainland media to have ordered T-shirts emblazoned with a bat-like image around the words “Wu-Han” from Chinese T-shirt makers last summer, triggering criticism on Chinese social media that the T-shirts implied that the coronavirus originated from Wuhan after citizens ate bats.

The origin of the pandemic is a highly sensitive topic in China. China has cast doubt on accusations that Wuhan is the origin of the coronavirus and said investigations into the origins were a serious issue that must be based on science.

Legendary New York rappers, Wu-Tang Clan. The band’s logo was incorporated by staff at Canada’s embassy in China for a T-shirt design that has raised the ire of China. Photo: Invision via AP
Legendary New York rappers, Wu-Tang Clan. The band’s logo was incorporated by staff at Canada’s embassy in China for a T-shirt design that has raised the ire of China. Photo: Invision via AP

Canada’s foreign ministry said this week that the shirts using the “W” logo of the Wu-Tang Clan but with the group’s name replaced with “Wuhan” was not designed to offend.

“The T-shirt logo designed by a member of the embassy shows a stylised 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,” Canadian foreign ministry spokesman Christelle Chartrand said in a statement on Wednesday.

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