An exclusive gaming industry community targeted
to, and designed for Professionals, Businesses
and Students in the sectors and industries
of Gaming, New Media and the Web, all closely
related with it's Business and Industry.
A Rich content driven service including articles,
contributed discussion, news, reviews, networking, downloads,
and debate.
We strive to cater for cultural influencers,
technology decision makers, early adopters and business leaders in the gaming industry.
A medium to share your or contribute your ideas,
experiences, questions and point of view or network
with other colleagues here at iVirtua Community.
Bethany Watson with the message China she found in her copy of the magaazine.
BBC: "...was very concerned" and "...are seeking advice from our ethical sourcing advisers"
A political Chinese message was found by a Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, UK (Google Maps) girl in a notebook which came free with a popular BBC television program magazine.
Bethany Watson, aged nine, of South Road, who attends Kirkby Stephen Primary School, was very surprised to find the message scrawled in the middle of a pink papered notebook with a spiral binding which came free with her latest W.i.t.c.h magazine, which is based on the television adventures of five friends.
When she saw the Chinese writing in the notebook, which also came with a free fluffy pen, Bethany said: "At first, I was like, what does this mean? Was it going to be something bad, something like, "I am going to kill you".
A translation given to iVirtua Community (UK Press Team) by a Chinese national living in the UK said the message states: "Our farm is a black (means doing some illegal activities) farm. Please do not co-operate with them. They are traitors."
Bethany's mother, Julie, who is a married to Howard and works at the town's Rattan and Rush bistro, said: "It's not what you expect to find with a children's magazine."
Lorraine Lattimer, Bethany's grandmother, said: "You expect a notebook to be clear on all the pages. I was a bit surprised. If this was just testing the paper, they would have just ripped the page out."
W.I.T.C.H. is a fantasy/superhero comic series created in Italy by Elisabetta Gnone.
Wikipedia wrote:
It tells the story of five teenage girls who are chosen to be the new Guardians of Kandraka, who protect the center of the universe from people and creatures who wish to cause harm to it. For this purpose, they have been given powers over the five elements.
It has a circulation of 50,798, became the second-best selling title in the pre-teen girls market after its launch in April, 2005. It features a mix of comic characters and real-life girls for readers to identify with. Originally published in Italy, the comic is now published in more than 50 countries and is translated into over 20 different languages around the world.
The television program, which features five teenage girls who are given special elemental powers, is currently being shown on the CBBC satellite channel.
W.I.T.C.H. (TV series) Wikipedia Entry wrote:
W.I.T.C.H. is a French animated television series based on the Italian comic book series of the same name. Like the comics, the series follows five ordinary girls: Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin who become endowed with magical powers and become the "Guardians of the Veil".
BBC Magazines spokesman via email Philip Fleming said:
Quote:
"BBC Magazines was very concerned to learn about the Chinese message that was found in the W i. t. c. h. magazine stationery gift and we'd like to sincerely apologise to the reader for any concern or distress it may have caused them."
BBC Statement wrote:
BBC Worldwide, of which BBC Magazines is a division, has an ethical policy which we take very seriously. Unfortunately, we are not able to directly investigate this specific issue because the item was manufactured some months ago by a factory in China which our suppliers there no longer have a contract with
"The factory in question is no longer used because we've been reviewing the number of factories our local suppliers source from in China in order to be able to better monitor workplace conditions and practices for the benefit of the employees.
"All our covermount gifts are currently manufactured only by firms we have independently audited and who have passed our robust checks. This message appears to be a completely isolated incident but we are seeking advice from our ethical sourcing advisers on how we should take inquiries forward given that our suppliers have no contract with this firm now."..
Digg Topic
Tag topic on On del.icio.us
Technorati Search
Post to Slashdot
