Sexist tea mugs leave a sour taste
A FAMOUS tea chain shop in central China’s Hunan Province has apologized for sexist remarks on its products.
The popular chain ሇჿְ , or Modern China Tea Shop, in Changsha, the provincial capital, apologized on Friday’s evening and early Saturday after it referred to women as a “big bargain” on one of its range of mugs, causing outrage among netizens.
On the mug, it says customers could pick up an unexpected wonderful deal by meeting beautiful women while they wait for their tea drinks, as the shops are well-known for their long queues.
Netizens also found other descriptions on its tea bags uncomfortable including “My dear, I want you” and “The mouth says no but the body says yes.”
The tea shop argued on Friday that “picking up a bargain” was a common phrase in Changsha dialect and it wasn’t meant to disrespect women. But it still removed the sentence from the mug after finding it inappropriate.
But the apology didn’t sooth the anger among netizens who accused it of avoiding the main issues.
This prompted a second apology, taking responsibility for offending women, and promising in future not to mistake sexist jokes for creative ideas.
The chain will remove all offensive products from shelves.
WHEN thinking of countries producing caviar, China is usually not part of the equation. However, made-in-China caviar is gradually gaining popularity in international markets. It is all thanks to the arduous efforts of Chinese enterprises.
China’s largest caviar producer is in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang. In 2019, the caviar output of Hangzhou Thousand Island Lake Sturgeon Technology Co, reached 102 tons, accounting for over 30 percent worldwide.
“Our products appear in hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets in over 20 countries, such as France, Germany, and the United States,” said Xia Yongtao, deputy general manager of the company.
The company was founded in 2003. Back then, the global caviar industry was sluggish as the number of wild sturgeons slumped, and various countries imposed fishing bans.
“We aimed to ride the wave of Western countries’ unfulfilled demand. But we faced difficulties due to lack of experience in meeting sturgeons’ high demand over water temperature and oxygen content,” Xia said.
Breeding conditions
“Sturgeons are fragile,” said Shi Zhenguang, who started sturgeon breeding with his brother in southwest China’s Yunnan Province in 2003.
Majoring in freshwater aquaculture, Shi kept doing research and experiments to deal with the mass mortality of sturgeons and enhance their breeding conditions.
Meanwhile, Xia’s Sturgeon Technology invited experts from Russia, Iran, Hungary, and Germany for technical advice.
Nutritive feeding, advanced processing technology, and cold-chain logistics reinforced the confidence of Chinese caviar producers. However, poor sales disappointed them but Sturgeon Technology went to many countries for market surveys and sales promotions.
After attaining several top awards at blind-tasting caviar events and exhibitions, the company finally had its breakthrough. It became the supplier of German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG in 2011.
Shi never stopped improving his product quality. In 2017, caviar produced by his company, Yunnan Amuer Sturgeon Group Co, appeared in a threestar Michelin restaurant in Germany, and gradually sales started booming.
Over half of all global sturgeon farms are now in China.
PEERLESS world number one Novak Djokovic demolished Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win his ninth Australian Open title and extend his record-breaking reign at Melbourne Park yesterday.
Djokovic overpowered the fourth seed 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in front of 7,400 fans at the Rod Laver Arena to end the Russian’s unbeaten run at 20 matches.
In winning a third straight Australian Open for the second time, the Serb claimed his 18th Grand Slam title to move within two of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who have 20 each, while denying Medvedev his first.
Rarely has a player been so dominant at a single tournament with the Serb’s record-extending ninth title moving him past Federer’s eight at Wimbledon but still a long way behind the 13 Nadal has won at Roland Garros.
But it was a rollercoaster ride to get there, with Djokovic dropping five sets en route to the final and battling an abdominal injury that nearly forced him to pull out after the third round. Despite admitting it was a gamble to keep playing, with a risk the injury could get worse and affect the rest of his season, he chose to continue.
“Thanks to this court, the Rod Laver Arena, I love you each year more and more — the love affair keeps going,” said a relieved Djokovic, while paying tribute to Medvedev.
“Daniil, a class act, great guy and great person,” he said.
“I really like him off the court ... but on court he’s definitely one of the toughest players I have ever faced in my life.
“It’s a matter of time till you hold a Grand Slam.”
Top official booed
Djokovic’s speech to the crowd came after Tennis Australia chair Jayne Hrdlicka was booed for mentioning the COVID vaccine and the Victorian state government.
The unusual scenes came at the end of a tournament that was delayed three weeks over the coronavirus and had to bar fans for five days when authorities ordered a snap lockdown.
Medvedev, 25, is one of the smartest players on tour, keeping his opponents guessing with his flat and low groundstrokes, changing up the pace and angles, as he blends impenetrable defense with opportunistic offence.
But the Serb, who held a 4-3 head-to-head record against him but had lost three of the previous four, had his measure.
“It’s never easy to find words when you have just lost the final of a Grand Slam,” said Medvedev.
“But congrats Novak and his team. I mean, nine Grand Slams in Australia and 18 in total is amazing and probably not the last one.”
“I really wanted to make this match long and more entertaining, but today was not the day.”
The strong win reinforced 33-year-old Djokovic’s status as world number one.
He will mark his 311th week at the rtop when the new rankings come out today, passing Federer’s record of 310.