‘It is very ambiguous. There is no strict clear policy, no sanctions; it is indirect patriotism. About 88 million Chinese are members of the Communist Party, which is huge, and you know SMS is very prevalent in China.’ In other words, the message goes out almost subliminally: We are not happy that Korea is allowing this, and suddenly the Chinese stop going on holiday to Korea and go to Thailand or Indonesia instead. Within a year, tourism from China to Korea declined from five million to two million; K-pop stars found their visa applications to China refused; thousands of Hyundais and Kias
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