Anyway, I hope that you understand the
preceding was said in jest. I am really more interested in
contemporary examples of the same sign that can be readily authenticated.
Here is the first one that was reported about a month ago:
(Nanfang Metropolitan News via Tom.com) By Xu Linuo. May 8, 2005.
[in translation] "Chinese and dogs not allowed" is well known to be a public notice that insulted the Chinese during the semi-colonial era. But this sentence has publicly appeared in front of a factory on Yuannan Street in Lihuan District, Guangzhou. But the people at the factory did not think much of it, and they even claimed that this was 'freedom of speech.'
"Notice: All unauthorized Chinese and dogs are not permitted to enter, or else you are responsible for all the consequences. May 1". This unsigned notice was written with a chalk pen on a small blackboard hung on the gate of a factory on Yuannan Street in Lihuan District. When the reporter went there yesterday, the old factory building appears to be empty with no sign of production activities. On the outside were two stone tablets which said "Guanzhou Bicycle Axel Cover Factory" and "Guangzhou City Wuyang Bicycle Enterprises Sports Equipment Factory."
When the reporter entered the factory, she observed several males and females watching television or sleeping. Periodically, someone comes out pushing a bicycle. A female who claimed to be from Henan province told the reporter that she had been hired by the "boss" to look after this factory building to make sure that no one steals anything. She has no idea who the "boss" is as she has never seen him/her before.
The female said that she had no idea who wrote those words on the little blackboard. The reporter asked, "Don't you feel that these words insult people?" The men and women by the door laughed and said it was good fun. When the reporter pursued the question further, the female said, "This way, it will stop strangers from barging into the factory."
There was a row of motorcycles lined up outside the factory wall. So this was an open-air parking lot. While the reporter was asking questions, a man came over and took the blackboard down. The man claimed to be with the parking lot. He said, "These words were written by children." The reporter asked, "Why did you hang the words out?" But he turned around to asked the reporter, "If I want to enter your home now, would you let me in?"
The reporter asked again, "Little children don't know enough and so they write 'Chinese and dogs not allowed in.' But when the adults see that, shouldn't they lecture the children?" The man claimed, "It is the freedom of speech to write whatever you want."
About this notice, a lawyer said that freedom has to be balanced against rights. When a citizen exercise the freedom of speech, it must be legal and not discriminatory and insulting so as to infringe on the rights of others. This notice was intended to protect property, but it cannot be directed against a specific group nor equate that group of people with animals.
The above case might be taken as something of a
joke. If the reporter had a real wicked sense of humor, she should have
sent a foreigner in there and then watch what happens. "But your sign
says I can come and go as I please ..."
In the following, I am going to offer some more similar case studies to test your
sense of humor. You may not be amused. I am sure that there are many
more examples, as there must be plenty of idiots in this world, inside and
outside China.
