Coach and Givenchy among brands criticised on Chinese social media as Hong Kong protests fan nationalism
The Guardian
Date: 12 Aug 2019
By: Lily Kuo in Beijing
A Versace ad in Shanghai. Donatella Versace apologised for one of the label’s T-shirts which listed Hong Kong and Macau as separate from China. Photograph: Eugene Hoshiko/AP
A number of global brands have apologised to Chinese customers for implying that Taiwan and Hong Kong are independent countries, as tensions mount between Hong Kong and Beijing.
The Coach and Givenchy luxury labels, the sports brand Asics, the Calvin Klein clothing line and the Fresh beauty brand issued apologies on Monday after Chinese netizens launched online campaigns against them for implying that Taiwan and Hong Kong are not part of China on company websites and on T-shirts.
Mass protests in Hong Kong over Beijing’s growing control over the city have fuelled a wave of nationalism on Chinese social media as netizens criticise companies seen as not supporting the one-China principle, that there is only one China represented by the government in Beijing.
[FULL STORY]
