Is a nation of 1.3 billion really so sensitive? Why must it resort to such petulance? For more on the psychology and decades-old history of the phrase “hurting the feelings of the Chinese people” (伤害了中国人民的感情) click here.

Research for this timeline was conducted by CMP researcher Xiao Han.

david bandurski

David Bandurski

David is the co-director of the China Media Project, a research and fellowship program with the Journalism & Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong. A frequent commentator on Chinese media, his writings have appeared in Far Eastern Economic Review, the Wall Street Journal, Index on Censorship, the SCMP and others.