Spain apologizes for insulting show

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At a regular press conference on Jan 9, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying also demanded an apology from the Spanish side, saying that "we think the Spanish television channel involved should acknowledge its mistakes, respond to the legitimate public demands sincerely, take measures to eliminate the negative effect caused by the incident, and learn from the incident to avoid a similar event happening again."

With pressure from all sides, the Spanish TV station finally issued an open letter of apology, saying it was a misunderstanding and "may be a misunderstanding that led to Chinese people's feelings being hurt." The TV station also said it "did not intend to ridicule or belittle the Chinese people, not to mention initiating any racist attacks on the Chinese community."

At the end of the letter, the station promised that, "in any case, in our future artist activity development, we will avoid anything that might arouse protests. We have sincere respect for Chinese culture, and this will be reflected in our future cultural works."

The television station has a "long history" in humiliating the Chinese people, according the Chinanews.com. Last year, it aired a show that accused Chinese restaurants in Madrid of serving dubious meat, implying it might be dog, cat or even human meat.

The incident triggered strong protests from the Spanish Association of Chinese Foods Suppliers and the local Chinese community.

There were three similar incidents in just a year. The latest incident circulated widely among the local Chinese community, who finally decided to take action to stop further insults.