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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...n-tv-news-racist-satire-tourism-a8553611.html
China has complained to Sweden over a satirical TV show it said was “racist and xenophobic”, in the latest escalation of an unlikely diplomatic row.
The programme Svenska Nyheter (Swedish News) was broadcast in the wake of an incident that saw police remove three Chinese citizens from a Stockholm hotel during a heated argument over check-in times.
A family identified as the Zengs arrived at the Generator Hostel in Stockholm the day before their booking had been due to start, according to local media.
The man and his two elderly parents reportedly asked to spend the night in the hostel’s lobby, but hotel staff refused the request and asked them to leave.
Hostel employees called the police after they reportedly objected and videos of the incident show the family being carried out by officers and screaming in English: “This is killing, this is killing.”
China reacted angrily to the incident, saying the footage showed the “brutal mistreatment” of its citizens.
The Chinese embassy issued a travel alert to its citizens on Saturday that warned them against a rising number of “security incidents” reported by Chinese tourists in Sweden, including robberies it said were happening “almost every day”.
The satirical programme on Swedish state television (STV) – broadcast a week after the altercation – offered Chinese tourists advice on how to avoid culture clashes, which China said was insulting.
“The (Svenska Nyheter) anchor’s remarks are full of discrimination, prejudice and provocation against China and other ethnic groups, completely deviating from professional media ethics,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement on Monday.
The Chinese embassy in Stockholm said the programme had “outrageously insulted China”.
“The programme leader Jesper Ronndahl made comments that amount to a gross insult to and a vicious attack on China and the Chinese people,” the embassy said in a statement. “We strongly condemn it, and have lodged a strong protest to SVT.
“The SVT programme and Ronndahl spread and advocated racism and xenophobia outright, and openly provoked and instigated racial hatred and confrontation targeting China and some other ethnic groups,”
The embassy also criticised the programme for using a “wrong map” of China it said "severely infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
“The programme breaks the basic moral principles of mankind, and gravely challenges human conscience and is a serious violation of media professional ethics,” the embassy continued.
“To think that such things could happen in Sweden, an advocate of ethnic equality!”
Responding to the criticism, SVT entertainment chief Thomas Hall said: “I think it is so apparent that this is comedy, assuming that you know Swedish. But at the same time I understand that if you don’t know Swedish it is possible to misunderstand.”
In response to criticism of the handling of the three Chinese tourists, Sweden has issued a statement saying it was aware of the incident and that a special prosecutor would be appointed “to determine whether the police have actually committed negligence or illegal acts”.
A spokesperson for the Generator Hostels chain said the company was still working to establish exactly what occurred in the exchange between the three Chinese tourists, hostel staff and the police.
“Our priority is always the health and wellbeing of our guests, and as far as we are concerned the Chinese tourists were our guests,” the spokesperson told The Independent last week.
“We want to express how saddened we are by this situation, and are willing to work with both parties, the tourists and the police, to work out what happened here.”
China has complained to Sweden over a satirical TV show it said was “racist and xenophobic”, in the latest escalation of an unlikely diplomatic row.
The programme Svenska Nyheter (Swedish News) was broadcast in the wake of an incident that saw police remove three Chinese citizens from a Stockholm hotel during a heated argument over check-in times.
A family identified as the Zengs arrived at the Generator Hostel in Stockholm the day before their booking had been due to start, according to local media.
The man and his two elderly parents reportedly asked to spend the night in the hostel’s lobby, but hotel staff refused the request and asked them to leave.
Hostel employees called the police after they reportedly objected and videos of the incident show the family being carried out by officers and screaming in English: “This is killing, this is killing.”
China reacted angrily to the incident, saying the footage showed the “brutal mistreatment” of its citizens.
The Chinese embassy issued a travel alert to its citizens on Saturday that warned them against a rising number of “security incidents” reported by Chinese tourists in Sweden, including robberies it said were happening “almost every day”.
The satirical programme on Swedish state television (STV) – broadcast a week after the altercation – offered Chinese tourists advice on how to avoid culture clashes, which China said was insulting.
“The (Svenska Nyheter) anchor’s remarks are full of discrimination, prejudice and provocation against China and other ethnic groups, completely deviating from professional media ethics,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement on Monday.
The Chinese embassy in Stockholm said the programme had “outrageously insulted China”.
“The programme leader Jesper Ronndahl made comments that amount to a gross insult to and a vicious attack on China and the Chinese people,” the embassy said in a statement. “We strongly condemn it, and have lodged a strong protest to SVT.
“The SVT programme and Ronndahl spread and advocated racism and xenophobia outright, and openly provoked and instigated racial hatred and confrontation targeting China and some other ethnic groups,”
The embassy also criticised the programme for using a “wrong map” of China it said "severely infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
“The programme breaks the basic moral principles of mankind, and gravely challenges human conscience and is a serious violation of media professional ethics,” the embassy continued.
“To think that such things could happen in Sweden, an advocate of ethnic equality!”
Responding to the criticism, SVT entertainment chief Thomas Hall said: “I think it is so apparent that this is comedy, assuming that you know Swedish. But at the same time I understand that if you don’t know Swedish it is possible to misunderstand.”
In response to criticism of the handling of the three Chinese tourists, Sweden has issued a statement saying it was aware of the incident and that a special prosecutor would be appointed “to determine whether the police have actually committed negligence or illegal acts”.
A spokesperson for the Generator Hostels chain said the company was still working to establish exactly what occurred in the exchange between the three Chinese tourists, hostel staff and the police.
“Our priority is always the health and wellbeing of our guests, and as far as we are concerned the Chinese tourists were our guests,” the spokesperson told The Independent last week.
“We want to express how saddened we are by this situation, and are willing to work with both parties, the tourists and the police, to work out what happened here.”
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