September 18 is always a sensitive time in China because the day marks the beginning of the 14-year invasion by imperialist Japanese troops. This year is no different, but one person in China may have gone too far.

Guo Bin, the husband of table tennis champion and former Olympian Wang Nan made the following remarks online as his way of commemorating the Mukden incident (emphasis added):

It is always difficult to regain strength after being bullied — such is the case of September 18! The entire country (of China) has been thorough humiliated by such a smaller country! I have personally gone to Japan, but have never used any of their products, including their electronics! In fact, when staying in Japanese hotels, I turn on all the faucets as a way to relieve my anger! But it is of no use! We must do better in all ways! Let’s go!

The post didn’t go over well with some Chinese people. Although national pride is often viewed as a positive thing in China, some were opposed to Guo’s particular method of taking revenge against China’s World War II enemy.

Some people didn’t see the point of wasting water as a way to get back at Japan, or how doing so could relieve years of pent-up anger. One netizen remarked, “It’s rude, not something good to promote,” while another said, “I cannot see the relations between water taps and patriotism.”

Guo’s wife Wang stood up for her husband in a second post online, but both have since been deleted.

It seems that most people think that Guo’s waterworks went over the line. An online poll conducted by Global Times found that 62 percent of 8,156 respondents agreed with the statement, “You can be patriotic, but there must be limits.” Meanwhile, 22 percent said they sympathize with Guo, but disagree with his actions. Eight percent they would have done the same thing.