Zhou Hongyi Wants to Shoot Penguins (i.e. Tencent) Like Neo from The Matrix

I told you Qihoo wasn’t going to be happy about Tencent taking a step into the mobile security sphere. And if you have any doubts that Qihoo CEO Zhou Hongyi still harbors some serious ill will towards Tencent (whose logo and mascot is a penguin), then check out what he said Thursday afternoon at a film industry event with Keanu Reeves:

I’ve seen the Keanu Reeves film The Matrix at least 15 times. I don’t remember the lines well, but I remember a lot of scenes. The one that left the deepest impression on me is the one where Keanu is wearing a long black coat, and he opens it and it’s full of guns. I wish I could be like him, only I’d be shooting at a crowd of penguins.

In case anyone’s not sure what he’s talking about, here’s the scene in question (warning: extreme violence and some NSFW language):

I’m sure Zhou wasn’t really suggesting that he’d like to murder either actual penguins or actual people at Tencent, but I still personally find this kind of joke very distasteful. Perhaps as an American I’m overly sensitive to jokes about gun violence, but I don’t think it’s appropriate or healthy for the CEO of a publicly traded company to be joking about shooting the competition.

We’ve contacted Qihoo for comment on this and will update this post with the company’s position if it has anything official to add.

Among the comments on Sina Tech, it seems the opinions of China’s tech-watchers are fairly split. Because of the 3Q War almost everyone who watches China’s tech scene has long since taken a side on Tencent vs. 360, or adapted the fatalistic attitude of one Sina commenter, who wrote that he didn’t like Qihoo but that it was a “necessary villain” to prevent Tencent from totally dominating the market.

But what do you think? Is joking about gunning down the competition fair play, or has Zhou Hongyi crossed a line here?

(via Sina Tech)