British Council removes 'GREAT' ads after colonial flags debate

The British Council has removed eye-catching train station advertisements bearing the UK flag and the slogan "This is GREAT Britain" amid sensitivity over the growing use of the colonial flag as a symbol of opposition to the Hong Kong government.

The ads were put up in Admiralty MTR station last week to promote an education exhibition being held at the weekend but were taken down a few days early. They sparked widespread discussion on the Facebook sites of both private users and the British consulate, with some posters glorifying colonial rule.

Asked why the ads had been taken down, the British Council said some of the wording was "open to misinterpretation".

"The GREAT campaign is being used to promote the upcoming British Council education exhibition," a spokeswoman said. "As a global campaign it has uniform messaging for all markets. Given some of the wording has been subject to misinterpretation in Hong Kong, it was decided to remove those posters a few days early in order not to detract from the positive nature and overall success of the campaign."

The MTR Corporation would not comment beyond saying that advertising in its stations were commercial agreements between the firm and its clients.

On Facebook, one user wrote: "Yes! This is Hong Kong, here is Great Britain!"