From Apple to the NBA: the brands that have bowed to China, amid Hong Kong pro-democracy protests
Global companies with interests in China have long trodden carefully on the subjects of Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan and Tiananmen Square. On these issues of sovereignty, both the Chinese government and Chinese consumers have punished disagreement with the official line.
There is much at stake. China has become the world’s largest market for luxury goods. This year, according to researchers eMarketer, it will overtake the US as the world’s largest market for all kinds of consumer goods combined.
Hong Kong has now joined these four off-limits subjects – a mark of how seriously its ongoing and violent protests are being taken. These are the companies that have fallen foul of China on the issue of Hong Kong, together with the consequences they have suffered, and their efforts to atone.
NBA
On Sunday, October 6, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, fired off a tweet supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters. Quickly deleted, it included the words: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong”.
Two days later NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Morey was entitled to express his own opinions, citing the league’s value of freedom of expression.
The NBA’s business in China was said to be worth US$4 billion annually. China’s state broadcaster CCTV then announced it would suspend broadcasting of all Houston Rockets games, along with the NBA’s preseason games in China. Tencent, which streams the games, followed suit.
By Wednesday, October 9, all of the NBA’s official Chinese partners, including Changhong, Anta Sports and Ctrip, had suspended ties. Houston Rockets merchandise has been pulled from stores across mainland China.
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Tiffany & Co
On Monday, October 7, mainland bloggers accused Tiffany of mimicking a gesture expressing solidarity with Hong Kong protesters on its Twitter feed. In a photo tweeted that day, the jeweller showed model Sun Feifei wearing a ring on her right hand, which she used to cover her right eye. Bloggers pointed to a similar pose, adopted this summer by Hong Kong students in solidarity with a protester who was shot in the eye. “I love my country and I will not allow her to receive any defamation or violation,” said one online comment.
The jeweller said the image was created in May, and was “in no way intended to be a political statement of any kind”. Added Tiffany: “We regret that it may be perceived as such, and in turn have removed the image from our digital and social media channels and will discontinue its use effective immediately.”
Coach and Givenchy
In July, fashion brands Coach and Givenchy neglected to identify Hong Kong as part of China in remarkably similar T-shirt designs, and appeared to imply Taiwan is an independent country. Both T-shirts featured lists of city-country pairs on the back. These included “New York – USA” and “Beijing – China”, but then also “Hong Kong – Hong Kong”, and for the Coach T-shirt, “Taipei – Taiwan”.
After pictures of the garments started circulating online, bloggers started attacking them. Both companies quickly withdrew the products and apologised. Coach, for example, issued a statement saying: “We are fully aware of the severity of this error and deeply regret it.”
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Versace
Coach and Givenchy’s apologies came just one day after Versace said sorry for making the same mistake, with a third, very similar design, again on the back of a range of its tops. As before, Versace’s list of city-country pairs included “Hong Kong – HONG KONG”.
The fashion house’s apology, in parallel with a personal Instagram statement issued by its head Donatella Versace, did not come before the issue had attracted more than a billion views and discussion on Weibo. And it was not enough to stop Versace’s previous China ambassador, actress Yang Mi, from announcing she was severing ties. “The motherland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are sacred and inviolable,” said her studio in a statement.
Activision Blizzard
Partly owned by Tencent, Activision Blizzard is a US video game publisher whose titles include Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush Saga. It took swift action against a Hong Kong professional gamer who, in an October 8 post-match interview, wore a gas mask and goggles and shouted “Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our time!” The player was immediately suspended and his earnings stripped.
In a statement made the same day, the company said the player had violated a competition rule barring any act that “offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard’s image”. The company added: “While we stand by oneʼs right to express individual thoughts and opinions, players and other participants … must abide by the official competition rules.”
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Apple
On Tuesday, October 8, People’s Daily accused Apple of selling an app, called HKmap.live, that “allowed Hong Kong protesters to track the movements of police”. “People have reason to assume that Apple is mixing business with politics, and even illegal acts. Apple has to think about the consequences of its unwise and reckless decision,” said an editorial in the newspaper.
The next day Apple announced it would remove the app from its store.
“The app displays police locations and we have verified with the Hong Kong [Police Force] Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau that the app has been used to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimise residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement,” said a company statement.
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Since the Houston Rockets NBA furore, Apple pulled a controversial app and Activision Blizzard sacked a gamer, while earlier Versace, Coach and Givenchy all pulled T-shirts that were ‘offensive’ to China