German gets apology for beer, kabobs

A German woman who complained online about a booth at the Qingdao International Beer Festival for selling inauthentic German beer and substandard mutton kabobs said she has received an apology and a refund from the vendor after an investigation by the local market regulation bureau.

In a Sina Weibo post published on Wednesday, Navina Heyden, or Haiwenna as she is known on the platform, said the vendor offered her a refund and compensation totaling 1,200 yuan ($168) as well as an apology, the post said.

On July 22, Heyden said in a video on Sina Weibo that she went to the beer festival a day earlier, ordering two liters of beer that was claimed to be authentic German beer, costing 120 yuan, and eight mutton kabobs for 15 yuan each.

However, she said she had never drunk that particular brand of beer back in Germany and people around her all felt it contained too much water and tasted nothing like the beer she had in Germany. She also felt that the kabob wasn't mutton, but more like chicken or duck, and she had diarrhea the next day.

The video attracted waves of attention online, with many netizens complaining about unpleasant incidents at the festival, saying that this kind of activity is just to trick people living outside Qingdao. However, others also began attacking Heyden online, saying she was being malicious.

Many netizens said she only got a refund and reimbursement because she is a foreigner who received special treatment, though most people applauded her for holding substandard business conduct and people accountable, which would help improve the industry's quality in Qingdao, one of China's top tourism cities.

Heyden said that she does not believe foreigners are entitled to special privilege in China and she was not treated special.

"It is because of the public opinion, which has been pushed by the Chinese people that leads to the solution of the incident," she said in a Weibo post on Thursday.

"It is not because of nationality or race. If my voices do not conform to public opinion in China, they would not have supported me."

Many foreigners are reluctant to criticize China publicly because they are likely to be used by foreign media who tend to deliberately tarnish the country's reputation, she said.

During this incident, a foreigner complained about food safety in China and was supported by Chinese people and responded to quickly by the Chinese government. It is a good interaction and the government should maintain such communication channels with the public, she added.