BEIJING: Western businesses have been learning a costly language lesson about pigs, China and hurt feelings this week.
For financial professionals around the world, rising trade tensions and fears of a slowdown were no match for an unlikely drama that suddenly unfolded in China: the struggle by the Swiss bank UBS Group to quell a public uproar over a high-profile economist’s quip about pork prices.
Inside banks and investment firms, debate swirled across desks and trading floors. Many were baffled by the outrage.
Was the furore in China — amplified by outraged state media and a local industry group’s demand for the economist’s firing — some sort new front in the trade war? And what exactly was the insult?
At issue was an attempt by Paul Donovan, the global chief economist for UBS, to weigh in on whether a swine flu epidemic in China should worry investors focused on global inflation: “It matters if you are a Chinese pig,” he wrote of the disease. “It matters if you like eating pork in China. It does not really matter to the rest of the world.”
That particular phrasing, it turns out, was a perfect storm of grammar and word choice — ready-made for mistranslation.
Jasmine Fan, a strategist at BlackRock in New York, who grew up in China and speaks both Mandarin and English, echoed other bilingual industry professionals who grasped the issue and attempted to explain it.
“I don’t think there’s any problem in the English context, but it does sound pretty bad when you read the Chinese translation,” she said. For starters, the expression “if you are” is fairly common in English, yet relatively rare in Chinese, where it’s more likely to be understood as a personal reference to the listener.
Another problem was Donovan’s undiplomatic combination of “Chinese pig”.
“Usually, when traders refer to swine, they use the word ‘hog’ instead,” said Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego. “‘Pig’ is often used in a derogatory way.”
Local rivals of UBS, which have been trying to wrest business from more established Western wealth managers, were quick to condemn Donovan’s remarks. The Chinese Securities Association of Hong Kong, representing financial institutions including local branches of mainland companies, demanded dismissals.
“Almost everyone in the Chinese finance community has been offended by this tasteless comment,” Hao Hong, head of research and chief strategist at Bocom International Holdings Co, said in a post on his WeChat account Friday.
UBS asked Donovan to go on leave, took down a recording of his comments and issued a statement, saying “we apologise unreservedly for any misunderstanding caused by these innocently intended comments”.
Yet that privately frustrated many English speakers across Europe and in the US struggling to understand the backlash. Many said they thought the reaction in China was clearly overblown. Several expressed sympathy for Donovan and said they were disappointed his Zurich-based employer didn’t defend him more strongly. They asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Bill Bishop, who writes the Sinocism newsletter on Chinese current affairs, said he doubts the incident was “manufactured” by authorities. Instead, it’s a reminder that global companies hoping to expand in China always need to speak carefully or risk punishment.
Chinese state media were quick to weigh in on the UBS gaffe as well.
“Whether or not Donovan was fired is still unknown, but those who insult Chinese people must pay the price,” the People’s Daily said in a commentary published late Friday.
“Otherwise, relapses will be inevitable, and would-be offenders will be incentivised to do the same,”
In December last year, UBS became the first foreign bank in China to get official approval to acquire a controlling stake in its local securities joint venture. UBS has said it was enhancing its “internal processes” to avoid any recurrence of such an incident and remains “fully committed to investing in China”.
The Swiss bank is not the first to trip over cultural issues in China.
Last year, the Italian luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana caused an uproar after one of its advertisements showed a model of East Asian ancestry struggling to eat pizza with chopsticks.
“Whenever Chinese nationals respond to insults by foreigners, some people would quickly criticise Chinese people for having ‘hearts of glass’,” the People’s Daily wrote.
“Even some compatriots feel that any Chinese retaliation is like making a mountain out of a molehill. But it is a big deal, and there can be no ambiguity about that.”