Wang 2006
Wang 2006
Wang 2006
To cite this article: Jian Wang (2006): The Politics of Goods: A Case Study of Consumer Nationalism
and Media Discourse in Contemporary China, Asian Journal of Communication, 16:02, 187-206
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Asian Journal of Communication
Vol. 16, No. 2, June 2006, pp. 187 /206
Correspondence to: Jian Wang, Department of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47906,
USA. Tel.: /1 765 494 3325; Email: [email protected]
campaigns; and of its most extreme through product boycotts and consumer
militancy against foreign products. Most of these activities are short-lived because of
the lack of consumer commitment for a variety of reasons (Friedman, 1999).
However, this should not discount the communicative value and symbolic
significance of these events in defining and reaffirming ones national identity. In
other words, their significance reaches far beyond the economic impact they might
have engendered.
The mainstream view of nation and nationalism has focused on the nation as a
polity and nationalism as a political ideology (e.g. Breuilly, 1982; Hobsbawm, 1990).
In consumer nationalism, national identity is awakened and expressed in consumers
encounter with products and brands. It reflects national spirit in the cultural realm of
consumption. Despite the political, economic, and cultural importance of such
expressions, consumer nationalism remains little understood and inadequately
studied.
Two basic conditions are needed for any consumer nationalism event to occur* a /
consumer base with strong nationalistic inclinations and corporate concerns with
highly visible national association. Consumers nationalistic advocacy is often
triggered by focusing events (Birkland, 1997)* events that garner public attention
/
media* and to highlight the complex role of the media in its formation and
/
Internet news sites) dares to spark debate on a variety of business and social issues. In
this respect, the contemporary Chinese media are no longer just party propaganda
tools, but forums for public discourse, both shaping and crystallizing issues and
contention, while reflecting public sentiments and opinion.
To address the goals of this study, we commence with the concept of consumer
nationalism. We will cast the discussion in the broader theoretical context by arguing
that an essential part of modern consumption is the reproduction of social and
cultural identity and that, in relation to globalism, nationalism is a core social
identity in contemporary times. Before delving into the Toshiba case, we will describe
the media discourse framework developed by Gamson and Modigliani (1989) for
insights into the dynamics among media, advocacy groups, and public opinion in the
formation and expression of issue cultures and, in this particular case, consumer
nationalism. Next, we will examine how consumer nationalism was represented and
revealed in the Chinese media through the Toshibas case study, and explore why the
Chinese media and the larger public discourse framed the controversy as such.
Finally, we will discuss the significance of expressions of (Chinese) consumer
nationalism in the larger social context.
consumer behavior (e.g. Bilkey & Nes, 1982; Papadopoulos & Heslop, 1993; Samiee,
1994). COO is concerned with product nationality only in the sense of consumers
perception of product attributes associated with certain countries (e.g. German
engineering). COO effects on consumer choice are generally not an expression of
consumers national identity, allegiance or dissociation.1
Theoretical Premises
The construct of consumer nationalism rests on three theoretical premises. First,
consumption fulfills ones vital needs of self-definition (Douglas & Isherwood, 1996;
Lury, 1996). Mundane as they are, consumer goods are powerfully communicative. As
part of our possessions, material objects are our extended selves, shaping and
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reflecting our identities (Belk, 1988). Goods are carriers of meaning; and yet the
meaning is not intrinsic in them. Consumption is the process by which these
meanings are created, communicated, and circulated. One such social identity
embodied through the process of consumption is ones national identity. Campaigns
for or against products based on their nationality are a potent expression of political
and cultural solidarity, and serve as a strong affirmation of ones own national
identity.
Second, nationalism is part and parcel of the globalization process. As a relational
concept, national identity is meaningful in the context of internationalization or
globalization. With increasing market liberalization, rapid technological advances,
and extensive development of communication infrastructure, the world of business is
truly becoming more connected and integrated (e.g. A.T. Kearny/Foreign Policy s
Globalization Index, 2004). Or, as Ghemawat (2003) observed, market integration has
reached an in-between stage of semi-globalization. The contemporary movement
toward economic and cultural globalization is characterized by the concomitant
centripetal and centrifugal forces (e.g. Friedman, 1990; Giddens 1990; Robertson,
1995). Nationalism seeks the well-being and betterment of the nation-state by placing
one nations interest and welfare over that of another. By definition, it runs counter to
the central tenet of globalization and hence often disrupts the globalization
movement. But, as Eley and Suny (1996, p. 32) stated, being national is the
condition of our time, and is one of the core features of human association in the
contemporary world.
Third, nationalism is symbolic and cultural as well as territorial and political. The
discourse of nationalism and nationality encompasses many forms and assumptions
(e.g. Goodman, 1996; Wiley, 2004). As Smith (2001, p. 26) explained, territorial unity
becomes only the first step to the much more important kind of social and cultural
unification of the members of the nation. Calhoun (1997, pp. 2 3) saw the /
Consumer nationalism is not unique to any specific country; yet its sources and
manifestations may vary. The global spread of consumer culture is uniting the world
around common identities as consumers. But in the meantime, nationalistic
consciousness is also awakened in the very same process. Consumers project national
identity onto the products/services they choose or choose not to consume. In this
respect, nationalism becomes symbolic, communicative, and deeply personal.
the last decade came on the heels of its remarkable social and economic development
and the ensuing new challenges it faced (Gries, 2004; He & Guo, 2000; Zhao, 1997,
2002). The substance of Chinese nationalism is varied, ranging from the enduring
national sovereignty issues (e.g. the recovery of Hong Kong and Macau), national
pride and dignity, to moral order and the preservation of traditional values (Zheng,
1999, pp. 14 15). They may not be all present in any one nationalistic project. The
/
Media Discourse
As pointed out earlier, in consumer nationalism situations, a triggering event links a
nationalistic consumer base with an international corporate concern. Typical
focusing events are conflicts in international political and economic relations. The
question becomes how the event develops its focal power to mobilize consumers to
express their national identity through their consumption choice. Many players are
involved in the process, such as consumers, international corporations, merchants,
advocacy groups, government, and the news media. Media discourse is a central point
of concern, for it helps to shape the event and competes for public attention
(Hilgartner & Bosk, 1988); and its construction is a tangled and often times
contentious process.
Media framing entails selecting and highlighting some facets of events or issues,
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PCs, on 29 October 1999, Toshiba announced to settle the lawsuit out of court for a
total sum of $1.05 billion in compensation without admitting any liability.3
The news about the Toshiba settlement was immediately reported by the Xinhua
News Agency in China, one of Toshibas fastest-growing overseas markets (about 8%
of Toshibas global market share at the time), and the story didnt raise any eyebrows.
However, more than six months later, the story re-emerged in the Chinese media on 8
May 2000 when 21 DNN, a then newly-launched Beijing-based Internet news Web
site, published a story on the Toshiba settlement. This time it quickly caught on fire.
As the Chinese media and consumers discovered that the settlement didnt apply to
the Chinese market, public discontent grew into an uproar.
To understand how the Chinese media represented the incident, we examined the
themes (or interpretative packages) during the height of the story from 15 May to 31
May 2000. This study investigates two research questions: (1) what are the recurring
themes in the media coverage of the Toshiba case, and (2) what was their path of
development in the coverage?
The controversy broke out when on 15 May the China Youth Daily published a
story with a provocative headline: Differences in legal systems or outright
discrimination: why Toshiba compensated Americans, not Chinese. The ensuing
two weeks were certainly not normal days for Toshiba in China; they were critical
discourse moments (Chilton, 1987), where the tension and emotion highlighted in
the case became most poignant. The story dropped out of coverage shortly thereafter.
Despite its short news-cycle, as will be discussed later, the coverage manifested the
critical and complex role the Chinese media played in developing the Toshiba
settlement story into an incident of consumer nationalism.
We studied 56 related items (mostly news stories and some letters to the editor)
from the online news catalog of the Peoples Net (www.people.com.cn), the Web
platform for the newspaper Peoples Daily (daily circulation 1.7 million) (China
Journalism Yearbook , 2003). We included letters to the editor, because we believe that
they are part and parcel of the information environment for the coverage. The unit of
analysis is each individual item. Although not as popular as news portals such as Sina
and Yahoo, the Peoples Net is viewed by Chinese Internet users as more credible than
the more popular news portals (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2003). On the
Toshiba story, the Peoples Net has amassed a series of related stories from general
interest media, business press, special interest media, various regional newspapers,
and online news sites.4 This doesnt mean that the news catalog is complete or most
representative of all the coverage out there, but for the purpose of this case study it
does give us a good indication of the range of issues surfaced during the controversy.
Our analysis of the interpretative packages began with an examination of a
randomly selected sub-sample representing 25% from the story catalog. The selected
items were scanned in their entirety to identify salient themes (i.e. issues that form
194 J. Wang
the prevalent part of the item), as embodied by keywords, depictions, metaphors, and
catchphrases (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989, p. 3). This allowed us to uncover and
reveal the themes and threads based on the information rather than imposing an
external framework on the narratives (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). We categorized them
into common themes through an iterative process to best capture the main
interpretative packages. Based on this initial analysis, we developed a coding scheme
of the theme categories (see Figure 1).
We then employed a combination of systematic counting of content categories
based on the coding scheme and interpretative analysis. For each item, we identified
themes suggesting what is at issue and theme salience. Theme salience refers to the
degree of prominence of a theme pertinent to the story/item. Mean scores were
calculated based on the presence or absence of the themes in headline and/or body
copy. If the theme was present in both headline and body copy, it had the highest
degree of exposure (code 3), followed by headline only (code 2) and body copy only
(code 1). If the theme was not mentioned in either headline or body copy, it didnt
have any exposure (code 0). A sub-sample of randomly selected items (25% of the
entire sample) was coded by two independent coders, and the inter-coder agreement
is 86%.
In addition, we also noted types of media vehicles the story/item appeared in (i.e.
national vs. regional, general interest vs. specialized media), and types of spokes-
persons used in the story (i.e. interviewed or quoted in the item).
environment? The discrimination theme posits that Toshiba made a clear distinction
based on consumers nationality in handling the alleged selling of potentially faulty
products. As some of the coverage claimed, Chinese consumers were regarded by
Toshiba as second-class consumers and thus received unfair treatment. They accused
Toshiba of looking down upon Chinese vis-a-vis American consumers.
The competing media frame argued that Toshibas US settlement and its policy for
consumers outside the US (including its home market Japan) was an outcome of
market differences. It highlighted the unique legal context in the US that led to the
settlement deal, and disputed the overtly nationalistic reaction to the settlement.
The consumer rights violation frame represents the middle-of-the-road position.
Instead of accusing Toshiba of willful discriminatory practices, the discussion focused
on the more general notion of how Chinese consumers right-to-know about
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products and services werent respected by Toshiba in this case. For instance, it was
pointed out that Toshiba didnt inform Chinese consumers about the potential defect
and the settlement arrangement, because the company only made the announcement
on its global Web site in English, not in Chinese.
The media discourse was clearly anchored around national pride and humiliation,
and specifically Toshibas alleged discrimination against Chinese consumers. The
most salient of the three themes during the study period is the discrimination
package (M 0.64), followed by the consumer violation package (M0.43) and the
/ /
The central indicators of consumer nationalism in this case are references that
place product nationality and consumer nationality as the most important meaning
of the commodity and the merchant consumer relationship, and that Chinese
/
Mean scores
Toshiba settlement as
discrimination against 1.07 0.36 0.57 0.64
Chinese consumers
Toshiba settlement as an
outcome of different 0.67 0.07 0.43 0.41
market conditions
Toshiba settlement as an
act of consumer rights 0.13 0.43 0.59 0.43
violation
ebb and flow in prominence and are constantly revised and updated to accommodate
new events. Similarly, Entman (2003, p. 418) stated, The framing of a given actor,
issue, or event during a defined time period can be arrayed along a continuum from
total dominance by one frame to a completely even-handed standoff between
competing frames.
In the Toshiba incident, we also observed dominant themes in flux as events
unfolded. We divided the coverage period into three sub-periods (i.e. 15 22 May,/
23 24 May, and 25 31 May) based on three milestone events. It was the publication
/ /
of the widely talked about article in the China Youth Daily (Downright discrimina-
tion or market differences . . . ?) on 15 May that set off the controversy in the media
spotlight. While the Chinese media and consumers demanded an explanation from
Toshiba, Toshibas corporate communication team in China initially only repeated
the official line on the US settlement and failed to provide further explanation
without any directive from its headquarters in Japan. As the outburst of anger grew
stronger, on 22 May, Toshibas Vice President Masaichi Koga flew to Beijing for
damage control (e.g. holding a press conference, giving media interviews, and
meeting with Chinese government representatives). Two days later (24 May), the
Chinese Consumers Association (CCA) invited a group of experts from legal,
business, and IT sectors for an open forum to discuss the case.
As Figure 2 shows, the discrimination theme started off strong (M 1.07), but
/
tapered off after Masaichi Kogas news conference (M0.36). The contesting theme
/
discrimination. In short, while during the initial period of 15 22 May, the
/
discrimination package clearly dominated the coverage, as the story developed, the
coverage was shared by three main themes, with the consumer rights violation
package, a position preferred by the Chinese government, becoming the most
prominent.
why was the Toshiba incident short-lived, despite the intensity and extensity of
nationalistic advocacy during the controversy? To explore these questions, we now
turn to Gamson and Modiglianis (1989) media discourse perspective, in which they
postulated that three broad classes of determinants that combine to produce
particular [issue] package careers: cultural resonances, sponsor activities, and media
practices (p. 5). In our case study, we argue that the media discourse on consumer
nationalism is the result of the complex confluence of Chinas continuing
ambivalence towards Japan, sponsor activities by key advocacy groups, and the
changing Chinese media practices.
Chinese society as not being repentant about its colonial past. A major survey of
Chinese attitudes toward Japan in 2002 revealed that only 5.9% of the Chinese public
felt any closeness to Japan, while 43.3% held the opposite view (Jiang, 2004).
Diplomatic scuffles between the two countries are frequent and widely reported in the
Chinese media. They are primarily concerning Japanese government officials paying
tributes at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo where top Japanese war criminals were
buried, the revision of history textbooks on Japans role during WWII, and the
popular demand for an official apology for all the hardships China suffered during
the Japanese occupation.
Japanese multinationals have long been aware of Japans colonial past and its
lingering effect in many parts of Asia, including China. They were among the first to
enter the Chinese market when China opened its doors to foreign investment in the
late 1970s. Some Japanese companies, such as Sony, Mitsubishi, and Sanyo, began to
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advertise and cultivate brand awareness well before their products were even available
in Chinese stores. The very first print ad after the Cultural Revolution (when
commercial advertising was banned) was an ad for the Japanese camera brand
Minolta. Over the years, Japanese products have won over legions of Chinese
consumers. But Chinese consumers flare-ups with Japanese brands due to the
colonial past have grown persistent. In 2001, more than 100 Chinese passengers
accused Japan Airlines of discriminatory treatment in its customer service (China
Business News, 20 March 2001, p. 7); and Toyota had to apologize for its Prado ads
that were criticized in the Chinese media as being offensive to Chinese national pride,
because certain lion symbols used in the ads resembled those at the opening
battleground on the outskirts of Beijing during the Japanese invasion in 1937 (The
Wall Street Journal, 21 January 2004, p. B7). Most recently, there was an Internet-
based movement to boycott Japanese products for the entire month of May 2005. The
climate of opinion toward Japan provides the macro-social environment for the
(re-)emergence of Chinese consumer nationalism. As Gamson and Modigliani (1989,
p. 6) argued, such cultural resonances amplify the effect of sponsor activities and
media practices.
Toshiba executives 19
Toshiba business partners 10
Chinese Consumers Association 9
Experts/think tanks 9
Chinese lawyers 7
Government officials 6
Chinese judges 4
Chinese consumers 4
Journalists 2
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quoted in the coverage. We also found that the Chinese Consumers Association and
experts in various fields (e.g. IT, law) were prominently featured.
Toshiba executives were certainly at the center of the controversy when the story
broke; however, they werent able to anticipate and manage the sudden public uproar.
That was clearly evident in the way the Toshiba management handled media and
consumer inquiries in the early stage. Toshiba only repeated the basic rationale
outlined in the original press release regarding the US settlement, but failed to
address the emotional concerns of Chinese consumers. When later reflecting on the
episode, Omori Keisuke, Toshibas Chief of Public Relations, commented that
Toshibas mistake was its over-confidence in letting its product quality defend the
brand and that the company didnt make much effort to effectively manage the
symbolic realm in which its products were made and sold (Xu, 2000). When Toshiba
finally dispatched a senior executive to Beijing for a series of damage control
activities, their effort was primarily to articulate the market difference rationale in the
public debate. Notwithstanding its outreach activities and sympathetic comments by
various Chinese experts interviewed by some papers, the market difference theme was
clearly overshadowed by the discrimination and consumer rights violation discourses.
The quasi-government agency Chinese Consumers Association played a crucial
role in shaping the tone of the debate. It works closely with the state in setting its
agenda and practices, and its decisions and pronouncements often carry a strong
government ring. Although the Chinese government periodically launches patriotic
campaigns to promote cultural symbols of the Chinese nation (He & Guo, 2000,
p. 2), the state can no longer monopolize the nationalism discourse (Barme, 1996).
This particular outburst of nationalistic advocacy was not state-sponsored but,
instead, a case of popular nationalism. The Chinese government was caught in the
middle of such bottom up nationalistic expression. The dilemma facing the
/
important to explore legal implications in such a case and discouraged the overly
nationalistic sentiments expressed by some media and consumers by calling them not
conducive to resolution. CCAs official position was echoed by various commentators
and especially those at the CAA-sponsored forum.
In short, the fact that nationalism transpired and became an issue of contention in
the Toshiba case was partly due to Toshibas inability to effectively manage the
original outburst. When its corporate communication went into full swing to explain
the rationale for the settlement, it was too late and did not address the core concerns
of the Chinese public. CCA, on the other hand, tried to defuse consumers
nationalistic expressions by appropriating their sentiments for its own public policy
debate on consumer rights.
was an Internet Web site that resurrected the original Toshiba story, and the
establishment press followed suit* another example of how the Internet media may
/
drive the news agenda in the mainstream media. Aside from the mainstream news
media, about one-third of the items (33%) in this case catalog came from online
media, such as Chinabye, CCIDNet, Yesky, and the Web platform of the Peoples
Daily.
Second, with the market imperative introduced into the Chinese media, news
production takes on a commercial logic with the target audience at the center. The
evening papers, metro papers, and some establishment papers have become
aggressive in marketing, packaging, distribution, and self promotion (Zhao, 2000,
p. 11). They seek controversial stories and provide social critique to satisfy their
readership, without appearing to challenge the party-states mandate. Lathams
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galvanized public sentiments by helping to turn the settlement story into an incident.
When the government started to intervene through the Chinese Consumers
Association and to contain nationalistic expressions, the media also followed suit.
In sum, the media discourse of consumer nationalism in the Toshiba case was an
outgrowth of a combination of cultural resonances, sponsor activities (or lack
thereof), and contemporary Chinese media norms and practices. The Chinese
publics anti-Japan sentiments were crystallized and expressed through the Chinese
media, which now enjoy relative autonomy in selecting and presenting news and
information to reflect the tastes and expectations of their audience. The inability of
Toshibas communication strategy and management further catapulted the story into
the media limelight. As the story started to transpire into an incident ( ), the
direct actions taken by the Chinese government through CCA provided another
interpretative package into the discourse, and effectively shifted the focus of the
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debate. In light of the confluence of these factors, it is no surprise that the Toshiba
settlement story developed into an incident of consumer nationalism, but never
became a movement.
Conclusion
We set out to examine the phenomenon of consumer nationalism in the global
marketplace and the vital role of the media in constructing and expressing national
identity in the process of consumption. We explored the concept through Chinese
press coverage of the Toshiba settlement. We sought to explain and understand how
and why the settlement issue was framed and communicated as an expression of ones
national identity and pride.
As argued earlier, consumer nationalism has three key components of self-
definition through consumption, globalization, and symbolic national unification.
This study manifests the ongoing tension between the process of globalization and
the advocacy of nationalism, and Chinas continuing ambivalence toward interna-
tional influences during its development process. The emotional power of
nationalism draws not mainly from the prowess of the nation-state but more from
the symbols in the nations depository of history. It is also this emotional power that
gives us a link with history (Calhoun, 1997, p. 3). Consumption becomes one of the
social processes whereby such national spirit is expressed, communicated, and made
visible.
This study also suggests that consumer nationalism events are not isolated
occurrences. Such expressions have historical precedents in China (e.g. Gerth, 2003),
and in many ways the significance transcends the immediate financial impact that
negative publicity and boycotts may bring to businesses. If anything, consumer
nationalism provides a symbolic victory to the public.
This leads to our next argument that consumer nationalism represents empower-
ment, as it is another platform for the public to express and contest identity and
Asian Journal of Communication 203
frame. Aside from Chinas establishment media, the Internet media and regional press
in China played an active role in shaping the controversy as they vied for public
attention in the ever more decentralized and competitive media market in China.
This study expands the concept of nationalism to also include the realm of
consumption. It provides a deeper and fuller understanding of the multiplicity of
national identity and the complex role of the media in its formation and expression.
Whether such expressions are attributed to foreign policy, trade disputes, or history,
they are definitely fraught with political, economic, and cultural significance. There is
reason to believe that consumers will play a more active role in the global
marketplace. Further research is needed to consider the concept of consumer
nationalism, its processes, participants, and consequences. Moreover, with China
emerging as the worlds largest consumer market, it is essential that marketers
develop a better understanding of Chinese consumer behavior. In light of this case
study and other similar episodes involving multinational companies in China in
recent years (e.g. Japan Airlines, Toyota, McDonalds), a larger question as to whether
consumer nationalism is an integral and important part of Chinese consumer
behavior awaits examination. Research in this area may call for a revision of the
traditional consumer behavior model when looking at China.5
Notes
[1] Consumer expressions of national identity can at times be mixed with those of other social
issues (e.g. labor practices, product safety).
[2] It is important to note that the term nationalism as used in the Chinese context can encompass
patriotism ( ) */often represented by government-sanctioned or -sponsored expres-
sions of national sentiment */as well as popular nationalism ( ), an outgrowth of
public debate and grassroots movement. The consumer nationalism event as discussed in this
study is more of the latter kind.
[3] In its press release on 29 October 1999, Toshiba explained the two reasons for the settlement
(PR Newswire , Toshiba Corporation, 29 October 1999). First, it settled the case out of concern
for a serious risk that a substantial amount of compensation could be awarded through a jury
204 J. Wang
verdict based on legal precedents in the US. According to some analysts, such a scenario could
bankrupt the entire corporation. Second, Toshiba hoped to maintain its brand name through a
quick settlement. As outlined in the Toshiba decision, the settlement only applied in the US. As
for its non-US market, including its home market Japan, Toshiba would ship modified PCs
after November 1999 and make free software patches available for current users.
[4] A broad array of the Chinese press was represented in the case study. Offline media include
general interest papers (e.g. the Peoples Daily, China Youth Daily ), the business press (e.g.
China Business News , China Economic Times , Financial Times , and China Industrial and
Economic News ), and other prominent special interests papers (e.g. China Consumers News ,
Legal Daily, Science Daily, The Internet Weekly, and Computer World Daily ); online media, such
as Chinabyte, Yesky, CCIDNet, and the Web platform of the Peoples Daily. There was a strong
presence of the regional media in the coverage of this controversy. These regional newspapers
included Beijing Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and Beijing Morning News in the Beijing area; Shu
Bao in Southwest China; and Liaoshen Evening News in Northeast China.
[5] This particular point of the potential of the construct of Chinese consumer nationalism for the
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examination of Chinese consumer behavior was suggested by one of the reviewers. This author
gratefully acknowledges the addition of this comment and observation.
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