H & M’s problems in Asia consist of a ‘problematic’ map of the region

Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg

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Hennes & Mauritz AB’s misery in Asia intensified after a ‘problematic’ map on its website caught the attention of Chinese authorities, with the retailer’s attempts to resolve the matter angered consumers in Vietnam.

H & M’s Shanghai unit was called upon by two city regulators to correct errors in the image, and the company said it will implement the rectification, according to the local branch of the Cyberspace Administration of China. on Friday. It did not address the corrections that had been ordered, and it is not immediately clear which map on H & M’s website is concerned.

Changes by the Swedish company to the map infringe Vietnam’s maritime sovereignty, the Saigon Giai Phong newspaper reported, citing the chairman of one of the country’s consumer rights groups. H & M’s spokespersons in China and Stockholm did not immediately respond to requests for comments outside office hours.

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H&M recently became a high-profile example of foreign companies being punished for crossing China’s political borders, falling victim to the government’s anger against clothing retailers criticizing human rights violations in the cotton-producing region of Xinjiang.

It was called by the Communist Youth League and the People’s Liberation Army for a statement dating back to September expressing concern over reports of Uyghurs performing forced labor. H & M’s stores disappeared from searches on Apple Maps and Baidu Maps, and some stores in smaller cities were closed by landlords.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea and backs up its claim with a 1947 map with faint dashes – called the nine-dash line – that loops down to a point about 1,800 kilometers south. from his Hainan Island. Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan claim parts of the same maritime area and have spar with China over which claims are valid.

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Vietnamese law prohibits companies from using images that infringe sovereignty, which represents the nine-dash line, Saigon Giai Phong said. H&M opened its first store in Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 and now has 12 outlets across the country, the paper said.

On the internet, Vietnamese consumers criticized H & M’s reported consent to the Chinese authorities. Some called for a boycott of H & M’s products, demanded that the company apologize to Vietnam and restore the changes to the map or close its Vietnam stores, Saigon’s Giai Phong said.

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