A Chinese tourist dining at a hotel in Malaysia discovered that many national flags were hanging on display but did not see the Chinese flag. He confronted hotel staff on the spot, even declaring: “If you want to make money from Chinese people, you should hang the Chinese flag.”
Unexpectedly, after the video was uploaded online, the situation took an instant turn as netizens revealed the truth with a single sentence, causing the man to face a “major backlash.”
The circulating video shows a man dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, claiming to be on a business trip to Malaysia. On his third day staying at the hotel, he noticed many national flags in the corridor during breakfast. Convinced that “every country’s flag is displayed except China’s,” he immediately called the hotel staff over to question them.
He repeatedly asked in English: “Why is there no Chinese flag?” The staff, confused by the sudden questioning, simply replied: “I think maybe it’s inside.”
However, the man was not satisfied with the explanation and directly told the staff: “If you want to make money from Chinese people, you should display the Chinese flag.”
The original video seemed intended to show him “standing up for himself,” but after being uploaded, it backfired as a large number of netizens called him out. Sharp-eyed viewers noticed that the flags on display were not “all countries’ flags,” but were part of the hotel’s World Cup decorations, displaying only the flags of the countries participating in this year’s World Cup.
Since the Chinese National Football Team did not qualify for the World Cup, the Chinese flag naturally would not appear. After this fact came to light, many netizens commented that the hotel hadn’t missed the flag, but that the man had simply made a “big blunder.”
The comments section was full of mockery
The comments were full of ridicule: “Let’s talk when China actually qualifies for the World Cup!”; “This is the World Cup, not the United Nations General Assembly”; “It’s fine to be patriotic, but don’t confuse ignorance with righteousness”; “Didn’t even understand the event before blaming others”; “Embarrassed himself abroad.”
Other netizens pointed out that if the man had paid a bit more attention, he would have noticed that even the Malaysian flag wasn’t displayed, since the hotel only showcased the flags of countries competing in the World Cup, not all national flags.
Some also felt that hotel decor is at the discretion of the business, and while customers can inquire, making high-profile accusations before confirming the facts will only turn oneself into the center of online criticism.