April 15, 2008
Carrefour faces China boycott bid
An attack Monday against the Olympic torch relay in Paris has got the Chinese people very riled, and a boycott call is going out across the country through online forums and chatting and cell phone messaging, urging Chinese shoppers to refuse to patronize French-owned Carrefour chain stores during the coming May holiday. ChinaStakes reports.
"According to one widely spread cell phone message, Carrefour’s largest shareholder, LV, once made donations to Dalai Lama, adding fuel to the boycott bonfire.
As some western people call for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games or at least the opening ceremony, some Chinese people think of boycotting western-owned businesses in China, since China’s huge and rapid-growing market has become important for many of them.
Li Jing, head of public relations for Carrefour’s Shanghai branch, said the company was investigating the situation.
The word is also spreading though online chatting venues such as OICQ (the most popular instant messaging in China) and by the ubiquitous cell phones, suggesting not to shop at Carrefour between May 8 and May 24, exactly three months from the dates of the Games. “Show them the power of Chinese people and the Chinese network.”
Image from the BBC.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2008/04/019785.htm