Chinese Say No to French Goods
After all the protests during the U.S. and European legs of the Olympic Torch Relay, I figured a call to boycott Chinese goods may follow. Instead, it's the Chinese who are rallying behind a boycott.
The Financial Times reports on an online appeal asking Chinese consumers to stop buying French goods. Targeted brands include Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and L’Oréal.
I found one Chinese blogger who called the boycott appeal "immature" but nonetheless criticized Olympic protesters:
Olympics is like the Wedding Ceremony of PEOPLE in China, not the government. Imagine your reaction if someone try to ruin YOUR wedding, instead of your governor's wedding? Now the wedding of 13 billion people started to be ruined. Its not the government official who are not happy, it is everyone in the country who feel being hurt. Please understand the difference, and think about what is going to happen.
It remains to be seen whether such a boycott will gain popularity or have lasting effects on French companies. However, it's worth noting that France isn't even among China's top 10 trading partners, and that the same Financial Times piece notes that "a campaign against Japanese companies three years ago had little lasting impact."
On the contrary, a Chinese boycott of French goods, says Stratfor, a global intelligence service, "could come back to bite Chinese brands — potentially those of corporate Olympic sponsors."
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Printer-friendly version
Comments
James Fallows on an American threat of an Olympic Boycott
James Fallows, a well-regarded writer and blogger for The Atlantic who lives in Beijing, wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post last fall about the calls being made then for the U.S. to threaten to boycott the Beijing Olympics if the Chinese government didn't do something about the situation in Burma.
In the piece, Fallows marvels at how little anti-American sentiment he runs into in China. "About the only thing that could change it would be something perceived as a slap at national dignity." Though it might be intended to support an undeniably righteous cause, an Olympic boycott by the U.S. would be perceived as just such an unprovoked slap, Fallows argues.
Few people within China are aware of how bad the situations in Tibet and Burma are due to the restrictions placed on the media and the Internet there, so to the average Chinese citizen the American action would appear to be completely unjustified and, as the Chinese blogger you quote suggests, solely designed to ruin China's party.
Moreover, he adds, "there is almost no reason to think that the ultimatum would work."
To Add Fuel to the Fire:
Chinese media and many citizens have blamed CNN for tainting American perception of them through their biased reporting on Tibet and the Olympic torch protests. But now they've got some new beef with the U.S. media outlet.
Chinese in the U.S. and globally are responding strongly to CNN reporter Jack Cafferty's remarks about Chinese goods and allegedly the Chinese people. Cafferty cited the lead found in Chinese products exported to the U.S. and called them "thugs and goons." Cafferty and CNN have stated that Cafferty was talking about the Chinese government and leaders, and not its people. However, Chinese media is stating that it was an attack of Chinese people and demanding an apology.
The issue had lead to heated debate on internet blog sites among people condemning Cafferty's remarks and those defending them as free speech. So, what does this heightened China-U.S. tension mean for the August Olympics?
Post new comment