A view of H&M, a Swedish clothing company, in downtown Beijing, China on the 24th. Some Chinese netizens are now boycotting the announcement that H&M is concerned about reporting of forced labor in Xinjiang Uyghur a year ago. Photo = REUTERS
Chinese netizens are boycotting Swedish clothing company H&M this time. H&M’s remarks a year ago that he was concerned about human rights issues in the Xinjiang Uyghur area were a new issue.
H&M said on its website in March last year, “I express my deep concern for the reports of social groups and media reports that accused forced labor in Shinjang,” and said, “If we confirm the case of forced labor, we will take immediate action.” This notice is still on the homepage after a year. H&M also announced in September last year that it had severed relations with Huafu Fashion, a cotton yarn company in China, which was suspected of producing products through forced labor by Xinjiang ethnic minorities.
However, on the 23rd, the Chinese Communist Youth Corps accused H&M’s Weibo (Chinese version of Twitter) account of “Would you like to make money in China without buying new products?” The People’s Daily, an agency of the Communist Party, also encouraged the boycott, saying, “H&M is trying to believe a few lies without hearing the voices of billions of Chinese people.” Chinese netizens argue that “It is a hope to make money in China without buying Xinjiang products.”
As reflecting this atmosphere, Chinese online shopping malls such as Tian Mao (T Mall) are in a situation where they are in fact boycotted, such as H&M-related products are suddenly deleted and products cannot be searched.
Earlier, the European Union (EU) put four Chinese officials and the Xinjiang Production Construction Corps, a military and political organization in Xinjiang, on the list of sanctions on the 22nd (local time) for the suppression of the human rights of the Uighurs in Xinjiang. Accordingly, China also initiated sanctions on 10 EU personnel and 4 organizations. The reason is that “it seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and interests, and maliciously spreads lies and fake information.”
Major EU countries, such as France and Germany, took a hard line by leading Chinese ambassadors to their home country when China entered retaliatory sanctions. Swedish Foreign Minister An Linde also condemned China’s sanctions as “unacceptable,” and said, “I conveyed unwavering support for human rights to the Chinese ambassador.”
On the 23rd, H&M’s Chinese subsidiary, which has become a target for boycott movement, emphasized on the 23rd, “We are openly and transparently managing our global supply chain and have no political position.”
Beijing = correspondent Kang Hyun-woo [email protected]
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