Feature: Fresh face of Obama attracts many Chinese fans

Source: Xinhua | 01-21-2009 08:09

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- If people from the Japanese city of Obama, previously a backwater, have an exclusive reason to become U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's fans from overseas, China's Guan Yanhui does not find it difficult to get excited too.

The 28-year old who is running a business on Taobao.com, China's eBay, has made a lot of money with his self-made Obama T-shirts.

"There have been so many Chinese talking about his campaign that I cannot wait to make a profit," said Guan, who only got to know Obama through TV and the Internet. When Obama won the presidential campaign, Guan began to sell T-shirts printed with Obama's head shot or campaign slogans for about 40 yuan (about six U.S. dollars).

"They did sell well," said Guan, who is not interest in politics, nor a fan of Obama.

With the key word "Obama", one can find more than 8,000 items on offer at Taobao.com, China's biggest online shopping website, such as shoes, hats, clothes, toys, books and videos.

Guan took little economic risk to cash in on the "Obama fervor", compared to the Law Press which decided to publish Obama's autobiography in 2007 when the Senator's prospects in the campaign was unclear.

The knowledge about U.S. presidency of most Chinese was no more than four presidents: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter, from 30 years ago, when the two countries formally established diplomatic ties. Nixon and Carter won their popularity among the Chinese via "Pingpong Diplomacy" and the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's historic visit to the States.