MALAYSIA: iPad 2 replica sells out as an offering in the afterlife as Chinese pray for the dead

Record ID: 1519286

  • Title: MALAYSIA: iPad 2 replica sells out as an offering in the afterlife as Chinese pray for the dead
  • Date: 5th April 2011
  • Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (APRIL 2, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF STORE, JOO HING, WHICH SELLS PAPER OFFERINGS FOR PRAYERS SIGNBOARD OF JOO HING VARIOUS TYPES OF PAPER OFFERING ON SHELVES PAPER REPLICA OF MASSAGE CHAIR HANGING FROM CEILING PAPER REPLICA OF 42-INCH PLASMA TELEVISION HANGING FROM CEILING PAPER REPLICA OF IPAD AND IPHONE 4 REPORTER TALKING TO OWNER OF JOO HING, JEFFREY TE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) OWNER OF JOO HING, JEFFREY TE, SAYING: "Some of my customers have dreams where their departed relatives will ask for (luxury) items." TE HOLDING PAPER REPLICA OF IPAD AND IPHONE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) OWNER OF JOO HING, JEFFREY TE, SAYING: "Yes, there is still demand, people still come to look for the 'iPad 2'." PAPER REPLICA OF THE IPAD VARIOUS OF APPLICATION ICONS ON "IPAD" SCREEN SIDE OF PAPER REPLICA OF THE IPAD SHOWING "USB PORTS" BACK OF PAPER REPLICA OF THE IPAD SHOWING "IPAD" AND "888 GB" PAPER REPLICA OF HEADPHONES AND USD CABLES PAPER REPLICA OF IPHONE4 (LEFT) AND REAL IPHONE4 (RIGHT) ON TABLE BACK OF PAPER REPLICA OF IPHONE4 SHOWING "DUAL CAMERA LENSES" VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN CHINESE CEMETERY MAN PAINTING TOMBSTONE, TOUCHING UP NAMES OF DECEASED CARVED ON TOMBSTONE, WOMEN SITTING WITH UMBRELLA MORE OF PEOPLE IN CHINESE CEMETERY WOMEN PREPARING PAPER MONEY AND PAPER REPLICAS AS OFFERING TO ANCESTORS THOMAS SOONG PREPARING PAPER REPLICAS OF SHOES SLIPPERS AND SHIRT AS OFFERINGS TO ANCESTORS (SOUNDBITE) (English) 61-YEAR-OLD LOGISTICS MANAGER, THOMAS SOONG, SAYING: "They belong to the older generation, if you give all these so-called iPad, they may not know how to use it, so traditionally we give them shirts, shoes, all the necessities." FOOD OFFERINGS IN FRONT OF TOMBSTONE SOONG AND RELATIVES PLACING OFFERINGS AT TOMBSTONE OFFERINGS OF PAPER REPLICA ITEMS BEING BURNED SOONG AND RELATIVES LOOKING AT BURNING ITEMS MORE OF OFFERINGS OF PAPER REPLICA ITEMS BEING BURNED
  • Embargoed: 20th April 2011 04:49
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA46QLWNJG425Z080AIGPADKH2Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: During the Qing Ming Festival, also known as the tomb sweeping festival, Chinese communities in Asia honour their ancestors by burning fake money or paper replicas of luxury items such as flashy cars and designer bags.
    The latest gadgets, including paper replicas of electronic massage chairs and plasma televisions, have also become popular choices for families looking for something special as gifts to their ancestors during the annual festival.
    "Some of my customers have dreams where their departed relatives will ask for (luxury) items," said shop owner, Jeffrey Te.
    However, even those in the afterlife, will have wait their turn for high demand items like the Apple's iPad2.
    In Te's shop, paper replicas of the iPad 2 have sold out, but the older iPad model and the iPhone4 are still available.
    "Yes, there is still demand, people still come to look for the 'iPad 2'," Te said.
    Te shipped in 300 iPad 2 replica sets from China for the Qingming festival, which he says have flown off the shelves and left him struggling to meet demand - a scenario Apple Inc also faces.
    The first and second generation paper iPads sell at a dollar. The paper replicas are marked as 888 gigabyte capacity, an auspicious number in Chinese culture. A basic 16 gigabyte iPad for the living costs $499.
    For some Chinese, technological gadgets will not be part of the shopping list for their dead relatives.
    "They belong to the older generation, if you give all these so-called iPad, they may not know how to use it, so traditionally we give them shirts, shoes - all the necessities," said Thomas Soong, 61, as he set fire to a pile of fake money and other necessities at his grandmother's grave on the fringes of the Malaysian capital.
    The festival, which stems from Confucian teachings of loyalty to family and tradition, is also celebrated widely among the Chinese in Malaysia, who make up a quarter of the 28 million people in the mostly Muslim country.
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