(Text by Observers Network, Guo Guanghao)
German TV channel 2's host Andrea Kiewel has recently been involved in a controversy over racism.
In a program broadcast on July 12, two collectors displayed a set of Pokémon trading cards with the theme "Hello Pikachu". Each card was printed in a different language. Kevil mistook a Japanese card for a Chinese one and rushed to say, "This is Chinese, Ching Chong Chang."
"Ching Chong Chang" (typically "Ching Chang Chong") originates from 19th-century imitation of Mandarin pronunciation, which was viewed globally as derogatory and with racist connotations.
Kievel blurted out this statement, causing many German people to express strong dissatisfaction on social media.
On the official Instagram page of “TV Garten”, many users demanded an explanation from the program team, stating that this constituted “racialism in everyday life”. A German netizen with a East Asian family background said it touched on her childhood trauma.
A user wrote: "My three-year-old daughter said 'ching chang chong' when she came home from kindergarten a few days ago. I explained to her and her five-year-old sister why they couldn't say that, and why it is racist. They understood. If I can explain this clearly to two children, then we hope that an adult host can also do the same..."
Screenshot from social media comment section, translated from German by Instagram's built-in translation feature
Observer Network verified that as of the time of publication on July 15th, Beijing time, the complete replay video of this program was still prominently displayed on the official website of Germany's Television 2.
After being accused of racial discrimination, German TV2 issued an apology statement, stating that the host had spoken without thinking at the time of the live broadcast, and claimed that “there was no intention of racial discrimination.” It also said that Kiewiet felt sorry for her remarks and apologized for them. German TV2 also emphasized that the station “clearly opposes any form of racism.”
Social Democratic Party member of the Berlin city council, Marcel Hopp, criticized in a video posted on his Instagram account that Kiefer “clearly considers it completely normal, even interesting, to make racist statements.” Hopp said that by 2026, there was still discussion about such everyday racism, and that this happened at a public broadcasting institution, which shocked him greatly.
Hoop's father is German and his mother is Korean. He advocates that this host should be required to participate in "anti-rasism training".
