Great Wall faux pas
BEIJING: A US basketball player is being investigated by the Chinese authorities for scrawling his signature on the Great Wall of China, an incident which sparked an angry backlash online.
Bobby Brown, who plays for the Houston Rockets, was visiting the landmark with teammates during a visit for the National Basketball Association’s Global Games against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The player has only recently returned to the top of the US game after five seasons abroad and, given that three of those were in China, it might have been assumed he was more culturally sensitive than most.
But Brown said he wrote his name on the wall in chalk after seeing others had done the same – and his real downfall might be the fact that he had a relatively active and well-followed account on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform.
Posting an image of his graffitied signature and shirt number on the site, he wrote: “Had a blast at the Great Wall of China today.”
It soon went viral, with Chinese followers expressing outrage. One said: “This is a World Heritage Site, not your toilet.”
Another wrote: “If you truly love this country, you should take care of it.”
Brown deleted that post and followed it up with an apology on the site, saying: “I respect the Chinese culture. I made an honest mistake … hope you forgive me.”
That post has also since been deleted, and his most recent posts on the site now are from Shanghai in early October.
Brown said: “We were out enjoying the Great Wall. I had never been, it was my first time. I wrote my name on the wall in chalk. I saw different writings – I didn’t mean any harm by it. It will never happen again.
“I’ve been playing in China for three years now and I have the utmost respect for the Chinese culture.” – The Independent