Agnes Chan vs The Internet

Moral crusader and former bikini poser Agnes Chan has been attempting to confront her critics online, resulting in an embarrassing series of remarks which are either the result of extreme dishonesty, pathetic ignorance, or a terrifying combination of both.

From a Twitter based exchange between her and her many less than admiring followers:

Isn’t the organisation you work for not UNICEF, but UNICEF Japan?

They’re the same! UNICEF Japan and UNICEF are the same thing.

She is either being economical with the truth here, or doesn’t actually know the first thing about the organisation she works for (both seem equally likely) – UNICEF Japan is completely unconnected to the UN and UNICEF proper, instead being an authorised regional franchise of sorts.

Another exchange concerned her much publicised trip to anarchic “Somalia,” which actually turned out to be a comfortable tourist trip to the comparatively stable region of Somaliland:

Didn’t you make a mistake in saying Somalia instead of Somaliland?

Somalia is correct. The UN doesn’t recognise Somaliland. Its proper name is Somalia – we weren’t wrong!

So why were you so keen to advertise you were making a trip to war-torn Somalia when you actually went to stable Somaliland?

The Japanese government designates Somalia as a dangerous territory, which should be avoided were possible. That includes Somaliland. Japanese visiting there recently have had armed guards. It’s dangerous. Terrorism is scary stuff. Kidnapping too. It’s best not to take it lightly.

[…]

I’ve been thinking about how to improve next week’s chat better, like how to communicate more effectively to people, in an easy to understand way.

You’ve just been thinking about how to make lies sound real, haven’t you?

I don’t like lies at all! I live honestly, that’s my raison d’etre! Lying is unforgivable. It’s very bad.

Meanwhile she ignores critics who allege UNICEF Japan earmarks in the region of 25% of all donations for “publicity” purposes, with many suspecting the organisation is effectively embezzling donations to fund the lavish lifestyles of its celebrity members, not least Chan herself.

She should perhaps have stuck to posing in a bikini.