BEIJING – A popular Chinese beverage chain has apologized for using sexist slogans on its merchandise, after they sparked widespread outrage online.
Sexy Tea shop had referred women as a “bargain” on one of its mugs, adding that customers could pick up women while waiting for their drinks.
The shop said it had no intention of “disrespecting women”. It added that it would recall its latest range of mugs and was “very ashamed” of its latest creation.
The Sexy Tea shop had recently put out a range of “Changsha dialect mugs” – a dialect spoken predominantly in the capital of Hunan province. The chain has 270 outlets there.
It printed various local phrases on the mug, including the phrase “jian lou zi”, which in slang refers to picking up a deal for cheap.
It then gives an example of how the phrase can be used, with the sentence: “When I went to buy bubble tea, there were lots of pretty girls there. If you meet one like this, you can tell your friend – I picked up a bargain”.
A picture of the mug went viral on Chinese social media site Weibo and quickly attracted a barrage of criticism.(BBC)
