Mayoral hopeful’s message appears lost in translation
Is Auckland mayoral candidate John Palino trying to tell us something weird or profound?
Or is his billboard, in Mandarin, just lost in translation?
The image of the Auckland businessman’s billboard was shared on social media by Chinese lawyer and Labour MP Raymond Huo, who questioned the slogan.
“Is this real?” Huo tweeted, with the translation: “Not afraid of divine opponents but a mayor like a pig. Choose wisely . . . ”
Huo said a person had sent the photo to him on Chinese messaging service WeChat, but he was unsure of where it came from.
Chinese- speaking data journalist Keith Ng wrote that a more verbatim translation was: “Not afraid of a godlike opponent, most afraid of choosing a pig- like mayor. Make a smart choice; vote mayor, vote John Palino.”
Mandarin Times editor David Soh said calling a dud team member a pig wasn’t uncommon in Chinese.
Soh said the writing was “not ex- cellent”, but not completely absurd.
Palino disagreed with both versions of the translation and said the sign was “not out anywhere”.
“I am doing signs with funny slogans. In the Chinese community this can be considered funny and not offensive. But it’s not one that I would use. I have always been respectful of all other candidates.”