German EU Commissioner calls Chinese ‘slitty-eyed’ as he mocks ministerial delegation
Guenther Oettinger used speech on Sino-EU relations to deride visiting Chinese officials and their ‘shoe polish’ hairstyles, but says he meant no disrespect
Germany’s European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has defended his description of “slitty-eyed” Chinese people which triggered outrage after they were revealed in a leaked recording of a speech to business leaders.
In the comments, secretly filmed at a Hamburg event earlier this month, he mocked a delegation of Chinese ministers, “their hair combed from left to right with shoe polish”.
Oettinger - the commissioner for digital economy who was last week named to the more powerful post of budget commissioner - also made disparaging remarks about women and gay marriage.
Anonymous YouTube user “Sebas Travelling”, who uploaded the clip on Friday, said Oettinger had used the words “Schlitzaugen” - a derogatory term meaning “slitty-eyed” - to refer to Chinese people, .
“That was a somewhat sloppy expression that was not meant in any way disrespectfully towards China,” Oettinger told Die Welt newspaper on Saturday.
The comments were made during a speech focusing on EU relations with China, the world’s second largest economy.