Wu-han bat T-shirt incident not a 'misunderstanding'

On Monday, when being asked at its news conference to comment on a Canadian diplomat trying to order T-shirts featuring "Wu-han" together with a bat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Canada should probe the case.

One day later came Canada's response: It was a "misunderstanding". They said they meant to imitate the US music band Wu-Tang Clan's logo, which just happened to look like a bat.

Yet a deeper look into the process of Canadian diplomat Chad Hensler ordering the T-shirts will find it is not a "misunderstanding" as they claimed. According to reports, as early as May, Hensler searched for companies that make T-shirts online. He soon found one but did not order anything at first.

Instead, Hensler just waited, and, after confirming the company was in dire need of orders and money in June, he provided the logo of the product to the latter. The company realized the trick and refused at first, but Hensler pushed them. When the latter asked why he wrote "Wu-han", Hensler said it was "Canadian language" that meant cool.

The company made eight samples for Hensler, and he said he was deeply satisfied and would order more. Yet the company left him no chance and reported the evidence to authorities.

All these make any excuse about Hensler "not knowing what it meant" pale. He tried to select an company that could meet his requests. When being challenged he tried to defend himself, which showed he fully knew how offensive it could be by putting Wu-han on a bat.

And he is so foolish as to make a false defense. What is "Canadian language"? Aren't the official languages there English and French? And his personal excuse of "Canadian language" contradicts the claim from Canadian authorities about the Wu-Tang Clan. He meant to cheat, but obviously he is not even well-prepared for it.

It should be noted that by doing so, Hensler has betrayed the national interests of his own country. He is a diplomat and his grave offenses have hurt the image of Canada as a nation.

The MOF has required Canada to continue probing the case. Let's hope the person who committed such wrongdoing is penalized, so as to avoid hurting bilateral relations between China and Canada.