Spain's Chinese immigrants insulted by anti-prostitution ad

Global Times' special correspondents in Spain recently received many phone calls from angry expatriate Chinese women in Spain who said that they saw a TV ad that was insulting to Chinese women, the Global Times reported on Aug. 4.

It turned out that the Spanish media aired a public service announcement calling on female immigrants to take glory in preserving moral integrity and remember that working as prostitutes is disgraceful. There is nothing wrong with the ad's theme, but the problem is that the actress in the ad is a Chinese woman.

This ad fuelled resentment among Chinese women living in Spain because many of them suspected the ad insinuated that most prostitutes are Chinese.

The reporter called the ad's producer, and he said the company did not purposefully choose a Chinese actress.

He added that the company never meant to hurt Chinese women and hiring a Chinese actress did not mean that Chinese women are prostitutes.

He asked the reporter to tell Chinese female immigrants not to misunderstand the intention.

This incident has caused quite a stir in Chinese communities in Spain. A large number of Chinese women expressed their indignation and even planned a hunger strike.

A local Chinese media agency said that the ad's idea is understandable and the ad's use of a Chinese does not mean the ad tried to insinuate that most prostitutes are Chinese.

Author:Wang Fang, Global Times, Aug. 4, 2010 Translator: Ye Xin