What’s the trend?

Famous South Korean girl pop group Blackpink sparked controversy on Chinese social media after its members “illegally” touched a baby panda and its mother on a reality TV show.

What is the story?

Recently, viewers of a popular reality TV show saw four members of Blackpink touch and kiss Fubao, a baby panda with 3 mouths, with makeup on his face. Some of the group also touched the panda’s mother without wearing masks or gloves.

The baby panda was born in Korea, but all pandas in the world officially belong to China and are only temporarily loaned out when in other countries. China lends animals a number of strict rules and regulations to protect their welfare, such as prohibiting non-professionals from touching or coming into close contact with them. Regulations are put in place to reduce the possibility of spreading infections or causing any other type of harm.

To make matters worse, several Blackpink members have pet cats and dogs in their homes, which in theory could increase the risk of infections.

What are people saying online?

Chinese people on social media have expressed anger and irritation at the girl group for breaking regulations and animal keepers for neglecting their homework to prevent this from happening in the first place.

“Artists do not know the relative regulations; how could animal keepers not know either? A popular commentary read. “The artists were wrong, but they are not the most guilty here. Those responsible should be the breeders and all relevant zoo staff. They knowingly made the mistake and deserve to be punished, ”reads another comment.

Contact publisher Marcus Ryder ([email protected])

Related: K-Pop shows could return to China as a sign of easing tensions in Korea