Real estate tycoon Pan Shiyi (@潘石屹) tweeted a picture of China’s new aircraft carrier, Liaoning, in its full dress to celebrate National Day with the comment, “Neon light on the aircraft carrier. Looks bad. It’s gaudy like a nightclub.” {{1}}[[1]]航空母舰上亮起霓虹灯，不好看。花花绿绿的像夜总会。[[1]] The tweet has since gone viral and many netizens have taken the chance to mock the aircraft carrier, which met a poor reception in China’s blogosphere upon its debut as well. @艾绮恩歌迷汇 joked, “They are afraid that our enemies won’t find it.” {{2}}[[2]]怕敌军找不到[[2]] @椰林风声 questioned, “These kind of decorations are a waste of taxpayer money. Running out of places to burn cash or got your head kicked by a donkey? The captain should make a statement.” {{4}}[[4]] 装点成这样真是浪费纳税人的钱,有钱没地方烧啦?!想出此办法的人的脑袋真是被驴踢了!!!舰长大人该出来说个话吧.[[4]]
However, it’s likely that Pan and these netizens have never served in the navy. @新城澤霖 tweets, “Turning on the lights [on naval ships] and decorating them with flags is a special protocol of the navy… It’s practiced all over the world and not just in China.” {{3}}[[3]]满旗满灯是海军的一种特殊礼仪，遇重大庆典时白天满旗、晚上满灯，国际通行，非止中国一家。 [[3]] He’s right; see this page out of The Naval Officer’s Guide and photos of the USS Eisenhower in full dress.
