China’s oldest dairy company, Shanghai Guangming Dairy, was recently fined 300,000 yuan by the Shanghai government for damaging the country’s dignity or interests and revealing state secrets in its advertisements.
According to Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, the specific reason for the fine may be the phrase “Please give me light” in the Guangming factory’s advertisement. Some netizens pointed out that the phrase was a reflection of the darkness of China’s reality, while others said that it was an allusion to the Chinese Communist Party as the devil, which is leaking state secrets, no wonder it was liquidated.
But there were clarifying comments on the Internet, pointing out that the specific reason Guangming was fined was that its advertisement used an incomplete map of China, in violation of relevant laws and regulations. Some netizens found pictures of the Guangming advertisement and pointed out that the map of China did not show the nine-dash line in the South China Sea.
There have been a number of incidents in recent years in which companies have been fined because the content of their advertisements stepped on the Chinese government’s red line. Wujirushi Liangpin was punished by the Shanghai government in 2018 for using the term “French Concession” in its microblogging campaign, in a manner similar to the one imposed on the Guangming factory.
The fine was widely reported or reprinted by mainland Chinese media, but according to our reporter, by the time of writing, the reports had been deleted or blocked on Caixin.com, the financial section of China.com, and other media.
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