A well-known, national delivery ‘n’ discount operator has had to offer the Chinese nation and her citizens a strenuous apology after finding themselves in hot water when online users called the firm out for its inappropriate description of the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.
On 2 January, Meituan (@美团票) apologised on Weibo saying that the information the firm carried on their platform relating to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial was “incorrect”.
Until its removal, the listing on Meituan described the monument to 300,000 lives lost as, “A good place to relax body and mind, and to find leisurely entertainment” (放松身心、休闲娱乐的好去处).
China’s netizens have voiced their disapproval at the use of a stock expression employed by Meituan in the absence of other information. Surely in this case there would be plenty of source material at their disposal.
The Meituan listing had also been tagged as, “indoor play”. Both have now been removed, and the description of the Memorial replaced with, “Remember history, the location of the national public sacrifice ceremony”.
Joining the fray of disapproval was the Memorial Hall itself, which on its official Weibo account said, “Our museum is the location of the national public sacrifice ceremony, and it bears the responsibility of remembering history and cherishing peace. Relaxation, leisure and entertainment can go elsewhere!”.
Meituan responded by saying, “We sincerely apologise for this serious mistake. While making quick corrections, we also reflected deeply and initiated follow-up rectification plans”, reported The Paper.
While undoubtedly a serious oversight, and one which amounts to a betrayal of the Nanjing public’s confidence and trust in Meituan, the incident also calls into question the legitimacy of the descriptions for all locations listed on the platform.
Like many other of its ilk, Meituan made its name when the food delivery market exploded in recent years, latterly evolving to offer discounts across a broad swathe of the e-commerce market, including tourist attractions, explaining how the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall came to be a great place for entertainment.
Meituan has vowed to improve its manual review mechanism and to pay particular attention to listings for memorial sites and others of the like that deal with sensitive parts of history, while inviting relevant authorities and tourist attractions to have a say in the descriptions which the platform publishes.
