Taiwan hair salon covers 'swastika' signs after outcry

A hairdressers in Taiwan has covered up its street signs, after it was criticised for having a logo similar to the Nazi swastika, it's reported.

According to the Taiwan News website, the Berlin Hair Salon in the northern city of Hsinchu has covered its logos with a magic marker, so that only the name of the hair salon can be seen, after a week of angry comments.

The salon has also changed the logo on its Facebook page, after it received hundreds of negative comments online. It has been criticised by the region's German and Jewish communities.

The Liberty Times newspaper said that owner Hsu Chen-yang had originally defended his business, claiming the design was merely four razor blades. He said that the salon's design was created by an external designer, and denied there was any relationship between the shop's logo and historical events.

But he told the EBC broadcaster on 19 September that he had had people urinating and defecating outside the premises, and that he had taken steps to protect his business. He also said that he will speak to a designer about a new logo.

The German Institute Taipei - Berlin's de facto embassy - criticised the shop for its logo design earlier this week. In a statement on 18 September, it said that "using Nazi symbols for commercial purposes is a despicable act of offence against the victims of the Holocaust", adding: "We call upon the owner of the shop to immediately remove these Nazi signs."

The Taipei Jewish Centre also called for the signs to be removed.

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Many Taiwanese media are linking the incident to a school event in the city two years ago.

In December 2016, a school in Hsinchu held a mock Nazi rally for a Christmas parade, which gained international attention and was fiercely criticised.

Taiwan's presidential office apologised for the incident, and the headmaster of the school resigned.

Reporting by Kerry Allen

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