Recently, in Sanhe City, Langfang, Hebei Province, businesses were required to change the base colors of their advertisement boards, banning the use of red, blue, and black colors, which has been mockingly referred to as the “color terror” incident.
Multiple business owners reported that they received oral notifications from the urban management department, demanding them to change the colors of their signs to colors other than red, blue, or black, or face penalties. This incident has drawn attention nationwide, yet the local authorities in Sanhe have shown a cold response to the situation.
On April 15th, Langfang city announced that the principal person in charge of the Sanhe City Committee had been removed from office. However, there were doubts raised by the public as the official announcement failed to address the key issues of public concern and did not mention the name of the principal person in charge of the Sanhe City Committee, leaving the public in the dark about who should be held accountable for this absurd event.
According to reports from mainland media, the urban management department of Sanhe City in Langfang, Hebei, under the guise of “urban planning,” mandated that the base colors of storefront signs must exclude red, blue, and black colors, leading to scenes where even hospital signs with red crosses were forcibly removed. Ironically, the Children’s Hospital affiliated with the Red Cross Society in Sanhe City painted the internationally recognized symbol of the “Red Cross” in green.
Iconic red signs of chain brands like Mikel and Tasting were forcefully changed to green or gray, causing customers to mistake them for “counterfeit stores.” Some stores were compelled to revert back to their original colors, facing cost pressures due to the “flip-flopping” requirements.
It was reported that staff from the Sanhe City Urban Management Bureau explained that, according to the city government’s urban planning requirements, colors other than red, blue, and black could be used for the base colors of storefront signs. However, business owners claimed that they did not see any relevant documents when asked to change colors, only receiving verbal notifications.
Some business owners noted, “Urban management officials repeatedly visited us to monitor the color change from red to green, and we had to buy the new paint ourselves.”
Some netizens jokingly suggested that even fire trucks should be painted green, despite the fire department debunking such rumors. The “color terror” has raised public doubts about the government’s credibility.
The demand for sign changes in Sanhe has sparked widespread attention and controversy online, yet the local authorities in Sanhe have remained silent on the issue. Questions were raised as to why no timely announcements were made and why there was a lack of transparency regarding the responsibilities of the main officials in Sanhe who should be held accountable for this matter.
It wasn’t until April 14th that the Business Office of Langfang responded to the issue, stating that they had issued a working notice to Sanhe on April 8 to rectify the ban on three-color signs.
On April 15, Langfang City announced that the principal person in charge of the Sanhe City Committee had been removed from office, and had instructed the Sanhe City Committee and City Government to undergo comprehensive reforms.
However, crucial issues of public concern were left unaddressed.
Netizens have been discussing: What was wrong with the colors red, black, and blue? Why must these three common colors in commercial signage be banned? Did the government base this decision on scientific reasoning and analysis? What considerations led to this conclusion? Who made such a bewildering decision? Was the decision-making process transparent? Was it a unilateral decision by individual leaders, or was it based on collective discussions and research? Did the decision adequately consider the interests and demands of business owners, and seek opinions from relevant experts, scholars, and the general public?
An article by blogger Qidan noted that this event exposed not only the harm to businesses and the local business environment but also dealt a severe blow to the government’s credibility. Furthermore, such arbitrarily aggressive management practices run counter to modern urban governance principles, hindering the sustainable development of cities.
The article also pointed out that for the dismissed principal person in charge of the Sanhe City Committee, the announcement did not even mention their name, leaving the public unaware of who should be held responsible for this absurd event. The entire handling process appears vague and unconvincing, failing to provide a clear explanation to the victims.
“This Sanhe advertising board incident is by no means a trivial matter, as it highlights profound warning issues. If similar events are not adequately and thoroughly resolved, and absurd decisions are not effectively curtailed, it’s challenging to ensure that similar ‘oddities’ will not occur elsewhere.”