German store says it'll keep selling racist 'Save a dog, eat a Chinese' shirt

A German online retailer is facing a stream of backlash after several t-shirts with racist slogans were made available for sale on its website.

Shirts containing the phrase "Save a dog, eat a Chinese" and "Save a shark, eat a Chinese" were featured on Spreadshirt.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The website allows users to create their own t-shirt designs, which can then be sold on the same platform. Two users named as Quentin1984 and Monigote appear to be behind the t-shirt design.

Netizens were swift to react.

Despite protest, the t-shirts are still available for sale on Spreadshirt's website, with the company saying that they "have decided, based on our open platform principle, to keep the two designs in question."

The Chinese embassy in Germany has condemned the decision to keep the shirts, calling for the retailer to apologise and to stop the sale of the shirts.

It added that rather than sounding apologetic, the company's statement "defended its indulgence in insult and discrimination," reported Chinese state media the Global Times.

As of Monday, both t-shirts are still available on Spreadshirt's website.

While eating dog meat has become linked to China, in large part because of the country's annual Yulin dog meat festival, some 69.5 percent of people in China have never tried dog meat, says Humane Society International (HSI).

HSI notes that dog meat is "not part of mainstream Chinese culinary culture."

Sharks fin, on the other hand, is considered a delicacy, although its popularity has sharply declined in recent years. China has also taken similar measures to curb sharks fin consumption, with Air China Cargo becoming the first mainland carrier to ban the transport of sharks fin.