Chunghwa () is a Chinese cigarettes brand produced by the
Shanghai Tobacco Group
Shanghai Tobacco Group Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of state-owned China Tobacco. The company produced Chunghwa, Double Happiness, Zhongnanhai and other brands. The company is also a minority shareholder of Bank of Communications, Orient Securiti ...
, a subsidiary of
China Tobacco
China National Tobacco Corporation (), branded as China Tobacco (中国烟草), is a national key state-owned corporation with chartered monopoly status in China to manufacture and sell tobacco products.
The State Tobacco Monopoly Administrat ...
.
Chunghwa is marketed as a premium brand, the package design is a bright red color with the
Tiananmen
The Tiananmen , also Tian'anmen, is the entrance gate of the Forbidden City imperial palace complex and Imperial City in the center of Beijing, China. It is widely used as a national symbol.
First built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty, Ti ...
and its
Huabiao
Huabiao () is a type of ceremonial column used in traditional Chinese architecture. ''Huabiao'' are traditionally erected in pairs in front of palaces and tombs. The prominence of their placement have made them one of the emblems of tradition ...
pillars in gold on the front.
"Chunghwa", or ''Zhonghua'' (/), is one of the common
names for China
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...
. As a result, advertisements usually use the name as a pun, though this practice has been controversial. For example, the slogan "Love Our Chunghwa" could also be translated as "Love Our China"
and could therefore be used as an advertisement.
The cigarettes smell like
plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century.
Plums are ...
s and are reported to have been the preferred cigarette brand of
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
.
The Chunghwa brand can be considered to be a
status symbol
A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of Wealth, economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a Sociology, sociological term – as part ...
, and the cigarettes are often given as gifts.
History
In May 1949, shortly after the establishment of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government of Shanghai, the Military Control Commission took over the former Chinese national government tobacco company and set up a state-owned Chinese Tobacco Company.
The company solicited in the "Liberation Daily" newspaper suggestions for the official package logo. After the advertisement was published, many people submitted proposals. The accepted design was of the Tiananmen Gate with a dark red background and a gold five-pointed star, the Tiananmen Gate on both sides with two large Chinese tables, painted below the Golden Water Bridge, in the upper middle printed with "Chunghwa cigarettes," the back of the packaging painted with a base Dahua table in the middle printed with "Chunghwa cigarettes."
On February 13, 1951, the Chinese tobacco company in the "Tobacco Daily" published their first advertisement for their brand.
After the year 1952, the Chinese Tobacco Company was incorporated into the Shanghai Tobacco Company. By March 1953, Chunghwa had a total production of 16,000 boxes.
Limited supply period
Due to the small number of raw materials, Chunghwa production was low during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
, and its production was lower than the yield of the 1950s.
Open supply
In 1984, the Shanghai Tobacco Monopoly Bureau and the Shanghai Tobacco Company were established for the implementation of unified management and marketing of the tobacco industry in Shanghai. From 1984 to 1992, Chunghwa sold more than 160,000 cigarettes boxes.
In 1997, Chunghwa had an annual output of 10 million boxes. In 2011 there were sales of more than 900,000 cases. Chunghwa high-end market share in China is more than 50% year-round, and cigarette sales in China for many years have elected Chunghwa as the best brand.
Controversy
"I Love China" slogan
The "People's Republic of China Advertising Law" and "Tobacco advertising Interim Measures" on tobacco advertising has been strictly limited, so Shanghai Tobacco Group has been using the slogan "I love China" on large outdoor advertising, set to Tiananmen Square as the background. These ads have the words "Love China" and "Shanghai Tobacco Group" for the inscription. Although Shanghai tobacco Group states that this is a public service ad to promote
patriotism
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
and not their products, their intentions continue to be questioned. According to a survey, more than half of the people screened said "Chunghwa"
hina
Hina may refer to:
People and deities
* Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Hina (goddess), the name assigned to a number of Polynesian deities.
* Hina (singer), of 2021 group Lightsum
Other u ...
should be the name used for publicity of cigarettes. In Shanghai, more than 95% of the sale of tobacco products at shopping malls, supermarkets, convenience stores have "Love China" on the box.
2011 trademark case
According to the Article 8(1) of the Chinese Trademark Law (1993 revision), trademarks are not allowed to use the name, flag, or insignia of China, nor are they allowed to use similar terms and shapes. Chunghwa cigarettes not only use one of the several
names of China
The names of China include the many contemporary and historical designations given in various languages for the East Asian country known as in Standard Chinese, a form based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin.
The English nam ...
"中华" ("Zhōnghuá" hereafter) as the brand name, but also feature Tiananmen and Huabiao, two symbols of the nation, on the packaging. Lawyer Wang Shiru, arguing that such use is in violation of the law and damages the nation's image, petitioned the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court to invalidate Shanghai Tobacco Group's "Zhōnghuá" trademark. The Court denied Wang's request. The Court opines that the "Zhōnghuá" trademark, in use since 1950 and formally registered in 1979, should not be retroactively subject to China's Trademark Law (the first version of which was released in 1982). As a result, Shanghai Tobacco Group was allowed to continue using the "Zhōnghuá" trademark.
Markets
Chunghwa is mainly sold in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, but also was or still is sold in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Additionally, Chunghwa cigarettes are available in many airport
duty-free shops
A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...
around the world.
See also
*
Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai () is a compound that houses the offices of and serves as a residence for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State Council of the People's Republic of China, State Council. It was a former imperial gard ...
*
Double Happiness
*
Hongtashan
References
{{Reflist
Chinese cigarette brands
China Tobacco