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People walk past an H&M store in a shopping complex in Beijing, China, on March 25, 2021 – Photo: REUTERS
The Shanghai City Planning and Natural Resources Department said on April 2-4 that Chinese officials had summoned H&M Company to report the violation of the law and regulations of this fashion brand.
The incident occurred after Internet users in China informed authorities that H & M’s website had published a “troublesome map,” according to the newspaper. Wall street journal.
The bureau did not elaborate on the H&M breach, but said Haines Morris Company, the Shanghai-based operator of H & M’s website, fixed the problem. H&M has not yet commented on this infringement.
However, this is not the first time that H&M has had map-related problems in China. In 2018, H&M listed Taiwan as a country in the brand’s web version in Taiwan. China has always regarded Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory.
Taobao, one of China’s leading e-commerce sites, stops selling H&M products.
The wave of attacks on China’s H&M began on March 24, a day after the European Union, Britain and Canada enacted a series of sanctions, including travel restrictions and property freezes for many people and businesses in China due to the Xinjiang problem.
At this point, Chinese media noted the statement, which had been posted for more than a month on H & M’s website, saying that they did not use cotton in Xinjiang and expressed concern about Duy’s forced labor reports. the newspaper South China morning post.
“Defame and boycott Xinjiang cotton while making money from China? Don’t dream,” the message sent to more than 15 million people from the Chinese Communist Youth League.
The Xinhua news agency also warned that H&M will suffer the consequences of its actions.
Almost immediately, all the major e-commerce sites in China such as Taobao, JD, Pinduoduo … stopped selling H&M products. Waves of Chinese public opinion. “Boycott H&M” quickly reached the top 5 of the most prominent keywords on the Weibo social network.
Days later, many Cbiz A-list stars also announced that they would cut their contracts with H&M. Actor Hoang Hien terminates the contract as H&M ambassador, while singer and actress Tong Thien stopped cooperating to advertise fashion for H&M.
More than a week after being boycotted, H&M announced on March 31 that it hopes to regain the confidence of Chinese consumers, stating that H&M wants to be “a responsible buyer in China and elsewhere,” according to the newspaper. New York Times.
China is the fourth largest market for H&M with 520 stores for this fashion retailer, ranking second after the United States with 593 stores. On March 31, H&M said it had to close about 20 stores after being boycotted in China.
Previously, the United States and many Western countries had accused China of abusing the human rights of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Uighur workers have been “arbitrary arrests, human trafficking, forced labor and slavery” in the fields of agriculture, technology, and automobiles and textiles.
The United States, Canada and European countries have imposed sanctions on Beijing over the Xinjiang issue.
Beijing denies human rights abuses and says Western countries have fabricated and harassed it. At the same time, China has imposed retaliatory measures against some countries. China claims Xinjiang officials only run vocational training centers to combat terrorism.
