The highly entertaining ChinaSMACK collated Chinese responses to the question, “What if District 9 happened in China?” The answers cracked me up. District 9 is a smashing science fiction thriller that mostly takes place in a Soweto-like shanty town outside Johannesburg. Aliens that look a lot like giant shrimp have come in a city-sized spacecraft as refugees, essentially “infesting” the ghetto. The humans call the aliens “prawns”. Many of the answers to the question were along the lines (translated into English):

Aliens land in Beijing, Beijing people would ask the aliens if they believe in capitalism or socialism.

Aliens land in Shanghai, Shanghai people would drag the aliens to the zoo to put on display.

Aliens land in Guangdong, they would be eaten…

Aliens land in Wenzhou, Wenzhou people will ask the aliens: is business easy to do on your planet?

The Guangdong statement appeared in not too few responses, which reminded me of the SARS outbreak in 2003. Scientists had just narrowed the origin of the deadly virus to Guangdong Province, where residents were in the habit of eating the undomesticated sivet cat. The virus that crossed over from “ferret” to human became SARS. A Beijinger dryly commented to me upon hearing the news, “Guangdong will be the end of Chinese civilization.”

Who knows, if Guangdong people were to eat the “prawns” from District 9, maybe the sequel would have the aliens coming back to destroy earth!

Shrimp cocktail, anyone?