When it comes to ang paos, you’d normally expect a little bit of cash from it. However, some university students in Canada got the shock of their lives when they opened up their ang paos only to receive a “hell note”.
The incident recently occurred at the University of Toronto which saw itself facing backlash after its staff gave out ang paos to its students and residents filled with “hell money”.
According to a post on University of Toronto’s subreddit, the university’s graduate house staff had placed the ang paos in the common area for students and residents in celebration of the Chinese New Year.
However, inside the red envelopes were hell notes.
The person who shared the post had said that the hell notes that were given literally had “HELL BANK NOTE” written on it.
“Giving hell money to a living person is a horrible act because you are conveying to the person that ‘you are dead to me’ or, worse, ‘l wish you are dead.’ Such a mistake is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
Hell notes are paper money burnt for the dead and are usually used during Chinese festivals such as the Qingming Festival.
Honest mistake or simply racism?
The person who shared the post on the subreddit also said, “Judging by the Grad House website, they have several Asian-looking staff members on the team, and numerous Asian students living in Grad House.”
“It is very clear that not only none of the students and staff from the Asian cultural community was consulted in preparation for this event, but also none of their staff cared enough to look at the things they put in the red envelopes,” they said.
“Therefore, this is a serious act out of, and which will maintain cultural imperialism, white supremacy, and oppression forced upon Asian students.”
There is also now a petition where 7,177 people have signed to stop on-campus anti-Asian racism and call for an investigation of the “hell bank money” incident.
The petition calls for an official apology and investigation from the university, mental health support for students affected by the incident, a detailed course of action to prevent further appropriation of cultural contents and expressions, as well as to have a student-centered monitoring system to prevent offensive practices.
University of Toronto has since apologised
The university has since apologised for the incident and said that by the time they realised the mistake, it had already been too late as people had already taken the envelopes.
“Unfortunately, incorrect bank notes were unintentionally placed into the red envelopes. The University of Toronto deeply regrets this error.”
An apology written in Mandarin was also issued on the university’s WeChat page, along with an explanation of the measures taken to fix the situation.
“After learning of the incident, the University of Toronto immediately contacted relevant departments and teams to understand the incident and withdrew all red envelopes. The University of Toronto understands the impact of this incident and apologises for the error,” it said.
“Chinese New Year should be happy and peaceful, and the University of Toronto deeply regrets the mistake. U of T is firmly committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion.”
What do you think? Was it an accident or could there be some ill-mannered intentions behind it? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: M’sian Money Changer Gets Shock of His Life When Woman Wanted to Exchange a Hell Note
