--- title: Taiwan Salon Covers Swastika Signs After Shop Defaced description: The owner of a Taiwanese hair salon has blacked-out signs that included Nazi swastika symbols after objectors defaced the premises. canonical: https://time.com/5402703/taiwan-hair-salon-nazi-swastika-sign/ author: Eli Meixler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-21T03:19:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:30:17.819Z article:section: World og:title: Taiwan Hair Salon Covers Swastika Signage og:description: The German Institute in Taiwan said it was "shocked and disgusted" by the signs og:url: https://time.com/5402703/taiwan-hair-salon-nazi-swastika-sign/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc95f151e0822777/69893ac9929fad7550bf1a2a/h_54635835.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Taiwan hair salon's 'Nazi swastika' logo causes controversy og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Taiwan Hair Salon Covers Swastika Signage twitter:description: The German Institute in Taiwan said it was "shocked and disgusted" by the signs twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc95f151e0822777/69893ac9929fad7550bf1a2a/h_54635835.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Taiwanese Hair Salon Has Covered Its Swastika Signage After Its Storefront Was Defaced by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Sep 21, 2018 3:19 AM CUT  Two signs resembling a swastika hang outside Berlin Hair Salon in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, on Sept. 18, 2018. Two signs resembling a swastika hang outside Berlin Hair Salon in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, on Sept. 18, 2018.David Chang—EPA/EFE by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Sep 21, 2018 3:19 AM CUT A Taiwanese hair salon has blacked-out signs that include [symbols similar to Nazi swastikas](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3534154 "undefined") after objectors to the sign urinated and defecated in front of the shop. Hsu Chen-yang, the owner of the “[Berlin Hair Salon](https://www.facebook.com/pg/hair1salon11/reviews/?ref=page%5Finternal "undefined")” in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu City decided to cover up the two swastika logos with “magic marker” after the front of the shop was defaced, Taiwan News reports. It remains unclear if the rest of the store’s branding, which features other Nazi-era German imagery including the _Reichsadler_ (Imperial Eagle), will be changed. The German Institute in Taiwan said it was “[shocked and disgusted](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3532562 "undefined")” in a statement. “Using Nazi symbols for commercial purposes is a despicable act of offense against the victims of the Holocaust. We call upon the owner of the shop to immediately remove those Nazi signs,” the Institute said. The Institute, which acts as Germany’s de-facto embassy in Taiwan, had [repeatedly asked](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3531870 "undefined") the owner to remove the signs according to Taiwan News. But Hsu had refused, denying that the “four razor symbol” was offensive and citing the cost of designing a new logo. Many [reviewers](https://www.facebook.com/pg/hair1salon11/reviews/?ref=page%5Finternal "undefined") on the shop’s Facebook page felt differently. “I haven’t been here, but I will never go. Using Nazi symbols in their logo is extremely inappropriate,” wrote one. “History matters. Mutual respect,” wrote another. The incident wasn’t the first questionable recent use of Nazi imagery in Hsinchu. In Dec. 2016, Taiwan’s Presidential Office demanded a Hsinchu City high school apologize to Israel after [photos emerged](https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3057566 "undefined") of its students wearing Nazi uniforms, carrying banners emblazoned with swastikas, and performing the Nazi “Sieg Heil” salute at a themed school rally. The school’s principal [resigned](http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/12/26/2003661929 "undefined") in the aftermath, the Taipei _Times_ reported. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5402703/taiwan-hair-salon-nazi-swastika-sign/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5402703/taiwan-hair-salon-nazi-swastika-sign/"},"headline":"A Taiwanese Hair Salon Has Covered Its Swastika Signage After Its Storefront Was Defaced","datePublished":"2018-09-21T03:19:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:30:17.819Z","description":"The German Institute in Taiwan said it was \"shocked and disgusted\" by the signs","url":"https://time.com/5402703/taiwan-hair-salon-nazi-swastika-sign/","keywords":["Taiwan","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc95f151e0822777/69893ac9929fad7550bf1a2a/h_54635835.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc95f151e0822777/69893ac9929fad7550bf1a2a/h_54635835.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Taiwan hair salon's 'Nazi swastika' logo causes controversy","caption":"Taiwan hair salon's 'Nazi swastika' logo causes controversy","creditText":"David Chang—EPA/EFE","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/taiwan/","name":"Taiwan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5402703/taiwan-hair-salon-nazi-swastika-sign/","name":"A Taiwanese Hair Salon Has Covered Its Swastika Signage After Its Storefront Was Defaced"}}]}] ```