City denies Haibao is imitation of Gumby

• Source: Global Times
• [11:05 April 26 2010]
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Japan Pavilion at the 1992 World's Fair in Spain

China Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai

The mascot, created by Taiwanese designer Wu Yongjian, was selected from a pool of 26,000 entries. Modified and finalized by a Shanghai team led by Shao Longtu, it was given a name, Haibao, meaning the "Treasure of Four Seas."

"She (Lim) is simply trying to cause trouble," Shao added. 'The mascot was designed from a Chinese character and has a people-oriented spirit manifested in it - a strong Chinese quality."

Officials are shaking their heads at the latest controversy regarding questions surrounding the originality of the creative work produced by Chinese for the six-month event.

"Haibao was unveiled a long time ago," Xu Wei, spokesperson for the Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau, told reporters. "If anyone thinks that it violates some sort of copyright then why is the issue only being addressed now?"

First introduced to the public at the end of 2007, Haibao became widely recognized among Chinese and foreigners living on the mainland well before the accusations from Lim and prior to last week, when public debate heightened over sneaking suspicions that officials canned a promotional song for the Expo after it was said to have been copied from a popular Japanese tune.

Lim has also raised concern that the China Pavilion appears eerily alike in style to the Japan Pavilion shown at the 1992 World's Fair in Spain, both having adopted the ancient Asian architectural style of interlocking wooden brackets.

To that claim Xu responded by saying that it was also an unfounded statement, adding that the traditional dougong element is commonly found in old Chinese buildings.