Chinese champ’s husband leaves tap running in ‘attack’ on Japan
The Asahi Shimbun
By Daisuke Nishimura
22 September 2016
Chinese table tennis player and Olympic gold medalist Wang Nan backed
her husband wasting water in a Japanese hotel in revenge for an act of
Japanese aggression 85 years ago. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
BEIJING--Chinese pingpong champion Wang Nan says her husband was right
to leave the faucet running in a Japanese hotel to waste water as
revenge over Japan for invading China 85 years ago.
“It was really satisfying to keep the water running in a Japanese
hotel,” the husband gleefully posted on the Chinese microblog Weibo.
“When I went to Japan, I did not use any Japanese goods, including
electronic appliances,” the businessman also said in the post he put up
Sept. 18.
Olympic gold medalist Wang, 37, supported her partner by posting, “I,
too, ‘liked’ his post. We shall never forget Sept. 18.”
The date carries a special meaning for many patriotic Chinese, as the
Liutiaohu Incident occurred that day in 1931, which led to the Japanese
invasion of Manchuria, northeastern China.
However, most Chinese were not as supportive as Wang and poured cold
water on his actions.
Online criticisms included, “Remembering history has nothing to do with
tap water. He was just being wasteful,” and “Something’s wrong with
him.” His actions were also denounced as "childish."
According to an online survey, 39 percent of people stood by his
actions, while 48 percent said nay.
An even bigger slap in the face for the entrepreneur came from local
newspaper Beijing Youth Daily.
“It is truly a national disgrace if many people, after 85 years (from
the Liutiaohu Incident), can only express their patriotism through such
childish and small-minded methods,” a critical essay in the Sept. 20
issue of the daily said. “Narrow-minded patriotism will have people
lose their common sense, destroy civilization, trample on lawfulness
and harm others.”
Claiming a gold in a number of Olympic Games, including Sydney 2000,
Wang is a distinguished figure in China. She participated in the
National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2007.
My take on this
There remains a lot of bitterness in
China over the brutal occupation of large parts of China in the early
half of the 20th century. Part of it is due to Japan's unwillingness to
apologized for its past actions.
However the point for condo owners is
that this Chinese couple understands that letting water run
continuously, especially hot water, is very expensive.
It is also expensive to ignore dripping taps and running toilets.
—CondoMadness
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