EU commissioner describes Chinese people as 'slit eyed' and jokes about 'compulsory gay marriage'

Guenther Oettinger described visiting Chinese businessmen as 'nine men, one party, and no democracy'

Samuel Osborne
Sunday 30 October 2016 14:26 GMT
Comments
Guenther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, also joked about 'compulsory gay marriage'
Guenther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, also joked about 'compulsory gay marriage'

Germany's EU commissioner has been accused of racism after he described Chinese people as "slit eyed".

Speaking to businessmen in Hamburg last week, Guenther Oettinger used the term "Schlitzaugen" ("slit eyes") to describe visiting Chinese businessmen, Reuters reports.

He said the congregation consisted of "nine men, one party, and no democracy".

"All of them in suits, single-breasted, dark blue jackets," he added. "All of them had their hair combed from left to right, with black shoe polish on their hair."

In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Mr Oettinger defended his comments. "That was a somewhat sloppy remark that was in no way meant to be disrespectful to China," he said.

He added: "You have to see the broader context in which I made my remarks. In my speech, I wanted to warn Germany of too much self-confidence."

In his speech, Mr Oettinger also joked about gay marriage. After criticising Germany's welfare system and Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal policies, he said "perhaps compulsory gay marriage will be introduced".

His remarks were criticised by the German Federation of Lesbians and Gays (LSVD).

LSVD spokeswoman Stefanie Schmidt said: "An EU commissioner must be able to convincingly represent the European values of non-discrimination and not put the case for racist and homophobic prejudices."

Mr Oettinger has previously expressed doubts over whether the UK will leave the EU, saying he would not "place any major bets on Brexit".

Mr Oettinger accepted the Brexit referendum vote was "binding" but told German newspaper Bild: "It is possible that public opinion will tip if the economic situation in the wake of the Brexit vote worsens. In any case, I wouldn't place any major bets on Brexit."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in