News brief
Boycott of H&M has broad support in China
T
he Swedish fashion giant H&M has exper ienced a c o m p r e h e n s i ve b oy c o t t in China because the company opposes forced labor. The case is about a statement made by H&M over a year ago that they were concerned about reports of forced labor among ethnic minor-
ities in the Xinjiang region which is the heart of China’s important cotton industry. Last week, the Communist Party’s youth union picked up the statement and launched the campaign against H&M stating on the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, “Spread rumors of boycotting Xinjiang cotton, while also wanting
to make money in China? Wishful thinking!” The boycott happened fast after that. H&M can no longer be found on Alibaba, JD.com, or other leading Chinese online stores and the company’s app has also been removed on all Huawei and Xiaomi phones. Several physical stores have closed or had their red logo removed and from Hong Kong in the south to Beijing in the north, demonstrations are taking place outside H & M’s stores demanding apologies or attempts to stop customers from entering and shopping. In addition, the map service for the leading Chinese search engine Baidu also no longer provides any hits during a search on H&M. It is also not possible to order a car to the shops using Didi or other local taxi apps.
Finland criticized human rights in Cambodia
D
uring a recent UN Human Rights Council debate , Finland’s delegate Kir sti Kauppi said the human r ights situation in Cambodia continues to deteriorate. “We call for the government of Cambodia to cooperate with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to ensure full respect for all political and civil rights while finalizing their draft law on measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other diseases, and to make this cooperation a promising example [for future actions],” Kirsti Kauppi said according to Phnom Penh Post. In response at a later session of the same conference, An 12 ScandAsia • April 2021
Sokkhoeurn, Cambodia’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva expressed his deep disappointment with Finland’s statement. “We have noted with utter dismay that Finland refuses to review the state of human rights in Cambodia through an objective, open-minded and depoliticized
lens,” he said. An Sokkhoeurn added that it was ironic that Finland, which had just lately invoked national lockdown measures and declared a state of emergency restricting its citizens’ fundamental freedoms at home, demanded more respect for civil and political rights in Cambodia.
