Cultural insensitivity a serious offense

Fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar ignited a storm of public anger on Monday after it wrote that "Even with a 'good citizen certificate' in hand, we have many worries going out …" The sentence was used in an advertisement.

By "good citizen certificate" it possibly referred to the Health Kit, a WeChat mini program that records all places a user has visited in the past few days to decide whether he or she is a potential novel coronavirus carrier. However, many Chinese people will be aware that a "good citizen certificate" was one the Imperial Japanese Army used to issue in occupied territories of China during World War II.

The brutality and pain inflicted by the Imperial Japanese Army on the Chinese people and nation is well documented. Under no circumstances should it be forgotten. Monday also marked the 83rd anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which the Imperial Japanese Army used as an excuse for its total invasion of China. Therefore, the use of the phrase on that particular date is like adding insult to injury.

Harper's Bazaar issued an apology on its official micro blog account on Monday for failing to check the content and deeply hurting readers' sentiments.

They also said that they had admonished the editor and would continue educating and strengthening their team's knowledge of history. However, considering the timing of the ad, they should perhaps investigate more thoroughly to see whether it was done deliberately.