독일 Spiegel "New Coronavirus, Made in China" Cover Sparks Protest from China

[Image source=Spiegel Twitter/@derspiegel]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The famous German weekly magazine Der Spiegel featured the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) on its cover for the first week of February, labeling it "Made in China," which led the Chinese authorities to lodge a protest through their local embassy. The Chinese government has opposed this, arguing that such publication could cause unnecessary fear and racial discrimination.

According to foreign media such as CNN, on the 1st (local time), Der Spiegel revealed the cover of its first-week February issue on Twitter, addressing the novel coronavirus. The cover depicted a person wearing a gas mask and protective suit, with the phrase "Made in China" inscribed below. This was interpreted as a satire on the international spread of the novel coronavirus originating in China and the measures taken by Chinese quarantine authorities.

The Chinese government protested this by lodging a complaint through its embassy in Germany. The Chinese Embassy in Germany issued a statement immediately after the release of the Der Spiegel cover, strongly criticizing it by saying, "It only causes extreme fear, mutual blame, and racial discrimination," and "We despise such actions." It is known that the Chinese government is reacting sensitively to the growing anti-Chinese sentiment spreading worldwide along with the novel coronavirus.

According to Bloomberg News, earlier in Denmark, on the 27th of last month, the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a cartoon replacing the five stars in the upper left corner of the Chinese flag with virus particles, prompting the local Chinese embassy to demand an apology. However, the media outlet refused to apologize. In the United States, after a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus at Arizona State University, verbal abuse and discrimination against Asian students reportedly intensified.

Anti-Chinese sentiment is spreading not only in the West but also in Asia. In Sri Lanka, Singaporean group tourists were denied entry to famous tourist sites because of their Chinese ancestry, and on China's Weibo, a video was posted showing a Chinese woman visiting a Japanese restaurant being shouted at by staff to leave because she was Chinese.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.