Guo Degang, China's most famous crosstalk performer, is to face
legal action for making allegedly false claims in an advertisement
for a "diet" tea.
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The Xuanwu District People's Court in Beijing on Tuesday accepted a
suit from a plaintiff surnamed Zhang, claiming she was cheated by
Guo Degang who advertised Zang Mi Pai You, or Tibetan Secret
Fat-Elimination Tea.
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Zhang is seeking an apology and damages of 172 yuan (US$21.5) from
Guo, the tea producer, a sales agency and the advertising company
with a claim that they are guilty of commercial fraud.
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In the advertisement, Guo said he had lost three kilograms since
drinking the "miraculous Tibetan tea". His slogan "No big belly
after three boxes of tea" soon became a popular catch phrase.
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Zhang said she saw the advertisement in the second half of last
year on the sides of many buses, together with the large picture of
its "image ambassador" Guo.
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Guo claimed that he found the tea was "pretty good", because he
became much slimmer after drinking it.
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Zhang said she bought three boxes of tea because she was a fan of
Guo, but found she lost no weight at all and suffered nausea and
vomiting.
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She later learned from a China Central Television program on World
Consumer Rights Day on March 15 that the tea had nothing to do with
Tibet.
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Meanwhile, the so-called research institute that served to promote
the product was just a one-man company registered by the product's
advertising company.
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Guo was reportedly paid two million yuan (US$260,000)for the
promotion. The Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce
demanded the tea be removed from sale in pharmacies in Beijing last
month.
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Guo has maintained on his website that he found the tea good.
(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2007)