The "special supply cigarettes" photographed by netizens. The other day, a netizen posted online that he saw the "Tsinghua University Centennial Celebration Special Supply" Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes being sold for ten thousand yuan. Many Tsinghua University students who participated in the centennial celebration said that they had seen the special supply liquor for the centennial celebration, but not the special supply cigarettes. Some media reported that customer service personnel from Hubei China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd., the parent company of Wuhan Cigarette Factory which produces Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes, stated that last April, the company produced a batch of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes specially supplied for the centennial celebration of Tsinghua University. However, the annual production of these special supply cigarettes was very low and they were not commonly found on the market.
In the afternoon of yesterday, the News Center of Tsinghua University responded that the online post was untrue, and the university had never authorized any enterprise to produce or custom-make any tobacco products for them.
>> Netizen's Exposure: "University Anniversary Special Supply Cigarettes" Sold for Ten Thousand Yuan
At noon the day before yesterday, "Northeast Girl" posted on Huasheng Forum, asking "Would you buy the Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes produced by Wuhan Cigarette Factory at 10,000 yuan per carton?"
The post included a picture. In the picture, inside a tobacco store counter, there was a golden box of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes. On the outside of the cigarette box, it was printed with the words "Special Supply for Tsinghua Centennial Celebration". Outside the cigarette box, there was a prominent sign saying "Store Manager's Recommendation: First Grade Yellow Crane Tower 10,000 yuan." Next to this cigarette was another brand of cigarettes priced at 120 yuan, forming a stark contrast.
Yesterday, "Northeast Girl" tweeted that this picture was taken at a tobacco store in an airport in Hubei. Some netizens replied that similar products were also seen being sold at a high price of more than ten thousand yuan in Wuhan Plaza Shopping Center in Wuhan City, Hubei Province.
After the post was sent out, it was widely forwarded. Netizens questioned the pricing of the sky-high priced cigarettes, wondering if there were gold bars inside. They also lamented that the commercial atmosphere of the centenary celebration of the prestigious school was too heavy, which did not conform to Tsinghua's spirit of "high academic institution, emphasis on humanities" and "virtue bears all".
When the reporter queried this type of cigarette on the China Tobacco Market website, among the more than one hundred types of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes currently available on the market, no product labeled as "Special Supply for Tsinghua Centennial Celebration" could be found. According to the website, the symbolic ladder-shaped Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes cost 1500 yuan per carton, while the most expensive First Grade Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes cost 2000 yuan per carton.
The special supply cigarettes were indeed produced.
>> Corporate Customer Service
Yesterday, the reporter tried to contact the manufacturer of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes, but the phone was unanswered. Some media reported that customer service personnel from Hubei China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd., the parent company of Wuhan Cigarette Factory which produces Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes, stated that last year they produced a batch of First Grade Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes specially supplied for the Tsinghua University Centennial Celebration. The production volume was very small and not commonly found on the market.
From the recording of the media's interview with the customer service personnel of Hubei China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd., the reporter heard that the customer service personnel indeed said that they produced the First Grade Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes specially supplied for the Tsinghua University Centennial Celebration, but the quantity produced was very small, and this cigarette was not included in the company's publicly sold cigarette price list. The customer service personnel said that although they produced this cigarette, they themselves had not seen it. When asked if this cigarette was sold on the market for ten thousand yuan, the customer service replied that according to the sales price list, the highest-priced Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes were the First Grade Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes priced at 2000 yuan per carton.
The online information has no basis.
>> Tsinghua Response
In the afternoon of yesterday, the reporter interviewed several Tsinghua University students who participated in the centennial celebration about this matter.
A classmate surnamed Zhang from the Department of Computer Science and Technology introduced that during the dinner after the end of the centennial celebration last year, there were specially supplied liquors for the centennial celebration provided for the guests to drink, "but I have not seen the specially supplied cigarettes."
A classmate surnamed Huang from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences revealed that these specially supplied liquors were not publicly sold during the celebration or within the campus, mostly reserved by various hotels within the campus for reception use. Some teachers would privately purchase them through certain channels, either for personal collection or to give as gifts to others.
Yesterday, a teacher from the Tsinghua University Career Guidance Center for Graduates who wished to remain anonymous also confirmed that during the celebration, some customized products were privately sold as souvenirs or gifts for relatives and friends.
At half past five in the afternoon of yesterday, the News Center of Tsinghua University responded to this matter: On February 2nd, some social websites published the so-called "Netizens Expose Ten-Thousand-Yuan 'Tsinghua University Centennial Celebration Special Supply' Yellow Crane Tower Cigarettes Appearing on the Market" news. This kind of news has no factual basis whatsoever, hereby clarified.
>> Expert Opinion
Custom-made cigarettes and alcohol for university anniversaries are inappropriate.
Renowned sociologist Professor Xia expressed that university anniversaries are activities full of campus cultural connotations, and anniversary souvenirs and custom-made products are part of the activity, worthy of promotion. But the products should be related to campus culture, reflecting the humanistic image and cultural appearance of the school, making custom-made tobacco and alcohol products inappropriate. Custom-made products should not enter the market circulation. Merchants overprice under the guise of the school's brand, profiting from it, disrupting market order, creating negative impacts, and damaging the school's image.
This edition was written by our reporter Feng Wei and intern reporter She Yunqing.
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