China ‘Little Pinks’ slam university for decorating white chairs with red dots like Japan flag
Prestigious institution accused of being ‘traitorous’ by fervent patriots, issues ‘deep’ apology, promises to apply more rigour in future
A renowned university in China has been slammed after it decorated chairs at an event in a way that resembled the Japanese flag.
Photos from Wuhan University in Hubei province, central China, showing rows of white seats adorned with circular red stickers went viral on Chinese social media.
The resultant backlash prompted the prestigious institution to issue a public apology.
The incident unfolded while the university was holding orientation ceremonies for newly admitted undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Wuhan University is one of China’s top 10 universities and was ranked number 186 globally in QS World University Rankings 2026.
To facilitate aerial photography during the event, organisers placed white chairs in the central venue, attaching red circular labels to the backrests of some seats.
The university later explained that the purpose was to guide students and faculty, who were dressed in different coloured attire, to arrange themselves into patterns that would spell out the university’s English abbreviation, WHU, and its founding year, 1893.
