Editor’s note: The article is based on an interview with Dr. Zhang Kai, a professor and doctoral advisor in International Communications at the Department of Communications, the Communication University of China. The article reflects the expert's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Chinese people don't take "anti-China" remarks or behavior lightly. For anyone who ever engaged in them, costs were often painfully high. 

The Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana (D&G)'s dramatic downfall in the Chinese market in a matter of days is one of the many examples that have happened lately.

Triggered by the company's promotional videos deemed inappropriate or even racist by many and the co-founder and designer Gabbana's later insults towards China, widespread public anger has finally led to the closing down of D&G stores on several Chinese major online shopping platforms including Tmall and JD.com today.

The will and the power of many Chinese Internet users should probably indeed intimidate those who ever attempt to disrespect and insult the country. 

However, their zero-tolerance approach and ease of being mobilized over anything “anti-China” has also earned Chinese people a reputation of being jingoistic in some foreign media.

When it comes to how the Chinese people should react to insults against the country, Zhang Kai, professor at the Department of Communications, the Communication University of China, believes that while there is nothing wrong with speaking up against what the Chinese people see as wrong and unjust against their country, when expressing their views, they should “remain calm and sensible” and avoid inflammatory language or irresponsible behavior.

On the Italian fashion company's recent incident, Zhang drew attention to Chinese people's increased sense of cherishing their own culture. She explained that four decades ago when China first opened up to the outside world, people tended to worship foreign products and culture, believing anything associated with “foreign” was better.

However, regarding the D&G media campaign, many Chinese people have shown a strong distaste for trivializing or mocking their cultural heritage, which marks a shift of Chinese people's views on the relationship between China and foreign countries.

However, given the increased cases of “insults to China and Chinese people”, such as Swedish TV's program making fun of Chinese people in September, Zhang also warns that those who intend to make their discontent heard should also do it properly.

In this day and age, with the prevalence of the Internet and social media, there are ample opportunities for people to express personal views as well as destructive arguments and hateful speech.

In recent years, incidents caused by "anti-China or -certain Chinese persons" sentiments have prompted Chinese social media users to post furious response on their own accounts or to flood the "offenders"' accounts with their strong worded criticism or in some cases, hateful comments. 

For example, during 2016 Rio Olympics, angered by the Australian swimmer Mack Horton calling his Chinese counterpart Sun Yang a "drug cheat", Chinese netizens unleashed their fury on Horton's Instagram account.

While Chinese citizens have every right to remonstrate with people who disrespect the country and their people, leaving bitter criticisms as a reaction would not solve the problem. If anything, it only exacerbates the hateful feelings.

As a Chinese saying goes, “Speaking louder does not necessarily make one right.” Zhang said that in this kind of situation, engaging in a war of words does not make the Chinese people sound more believable, nor is it conducive to solving disputes. 

Moreover, hateful comments, imbued with negative feelings, more often than not, hurts the image of the Chinese people. 

Zhang stressed that one also needs to do one's own research and come to their own judgement before joining the public “crusade” over certain “anti-China” behavior.

The media should also play a constructive role during this kind of moment, Zhang concluded as her last point. She thinks the media needs to be objective and proactive in reacting as they have the responsibility for leading public opinion down the right path. 

On Wednesday night, China Central Television (CCTV) published a video on its social media account titled "Do you really understand China's chopsticks?"

Alluding to the disrespect of China's chopsticks in D&G's videos, the video illustrates the cultural meaning behind the Chinese eating utensils through showing their daily use by Chinese families. Zhang believes that is an exemplification of how the Chinese media should respond to such controversies.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)