Chunghwa () is a premium brand of Chinese cigarettes produced by the Shanghai Tobacco Group, a subsidiary of

China Tobacco The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration () or China National Tobacco Corporation ( commonly known as China Tobacco, CNTC) () is a Chinese government agency responsible for tobacco regulation and a state-owned manufacturer of tobacco products, ...

. The cigarette package design is a bright red color with the

Tiananmen The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; ), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City of Beijing, located near the ...

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 traditional ...

pillars in gold on the front. "Chunghwa", or ''Zhonghua'' (/), is one of the common names for China. 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 translate as "Love Our China" and could therefore be used as an advertisement. The cigarettes smells like

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...

s and are purported to have been the preferred cigarette brand of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

. The Chunghwa brand can be considered a

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a sociological term – as part of social and soci ...

, 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 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 sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

, 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 sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

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 (chiefess), a name given to several noble ladies who lived in ancient Hawaii * Hina (goddess), the name assigned to ...

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.

"China" trademark case

According to the 1993 enactment of the "Trademark Law", with the same or similar name of the country, or the name of the name of the seat of the central government agencies a specific location or landmark, graphical same text and graphics, are not allowed to appear on the label. Chunghwa due to the "Chinese" character and pattern Tiananmen Square, Chinese table, a lawyer pursuant to the courts, and to think that these signs on cigarette use damage the country's image, called for the repeal Shanghai Tobacco Group's "China" trademark. The Beijing First Intermediate People's Court held that "China" trademark in 1952 that the application for registration, and formally registered in 1979, released in early 1982, China's first "Trademark Law", according to the law is not retroactive, the Shanghai tobacco Group's "China" can continue to use the trademark.

Markets

Chunghwa is mainly sold in China, but also was or still is sold in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, 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 sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who ...

around the world.

References

{{Reflist Chinese cigarette brands China Tobacco