Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Approximately 6,500 employees of the Tiens Group, a Chinese firm that dabbles in everything from biotechnology to tourism and cosmetics, were offered an all-expenses-paid trip to France to celebrate the company's 20th birthday. The tour group, the largest Chinese delegation ever hosted in France and even in Western Europe, shocked the continent.

The Tianjin-based conglomerate booked up 140 hotels in Paris and the southern resort town of Nice and hired 147 tour buses. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on May 6 met Tiens Chairman Li Jinyuan, as part of the VIP treatment France offered to the giant delegation.

The Tiens delegates and their activities in France drew extensive attention not only from mainstream media of France and Europe, but also from Chinese public opinion.

Interestingly, while the French and European media covered the tour group positively, Chinese public opinion was divided.

Some held that Tiens made Chinese feel proud by displaying an extraordinary bout of generosity abroad while others believe the company's extravagance is more of a joke rather than an ornament to the country.

The France trip Tiens organized is a collective one, a type that is common in China. As a multi-level marketing (MLM) firm, despite the fact that the company has a business license, Tiens often came across suspicions about whether it's an illegal pyramid scheme. This fuels the public appetite to pick on the super-tour group.

Plenty of tour delegations, some of which are attended by as much as 10,000 people, have embarked on overseas trips from the mainland in recent years. It's notable that almost all the tour groups are organized by MLM firms.

Chinese public's judgment on them is affected by their suspicions over the legitimacy of MLM firms, but foreigners show little interest in such internal controversies. The destination countries care more about how much consumption those Chinese firms could spur. France has fully prepared itself to host the Tiens delegation this time.

By carrying out the collective France trip in a lavish manner, Tiens killed two birds with one stone, both motivating its staff members and publicizing the company. Some Chinese frowned upon the practice and even felt ashamed, but the outside world didn't regard it as a matter of any importance.

Thanks to the market economy, many Chinese have gotten rich and Chinese firms have accumulated strength.

The public now attaches great importance to the country's global image.

They are disgusted at the impolite and uncivilized behaviors of some Chinese tourists, thinking details of Chinese laborers and vendors adventuring abroad have shamed the country. Such sentiments stem from their patriotism and sense of collective honor.

Nonetheless, China's global image is decided by the true face of its inner society. A gigantic society getting rid of backwardness will certainly encounter varied problems. We shouldn't be radical, nor should we deliberately imitate the West. Even if we want to we could hardly succeed.

Whether Tiens France trip is a good thing or not is a matter of the firm and not worthy of attention from society. The 6,500 staff members and the French tourism industry have been both satisfied. Why shouldn't Chinese public opinion be just an onlooker?