Clothing and footwear companies such as ‘H&M’ and Nike and New Balance have raised the issue of atrocities against Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang. This has provoked China and has condemned these foreign companies for mentioning human rights violations in Xinjiang. Significantly, China is accused of torturing Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang.
In fact, the Youth League of the Chinese Communist Party of China referred to a March 2020 statement of ‘H&M’ on its social media account on Wednesday. It said that he would not buy cotton grown in Xinjiang. The Swedish brand had said that it was deeply concerned about the news of forced labor in the Xinjiang region. At the same time, China says that it will not tolerate comments on internal matters.
These major companies commented on Xinjiang’s cotton
The Communist Party mouthpiece ‘Global Times’ said on Thursday that other companies — Barbieri, Adidas, Nike and New Balance — also made unfavourable comments about Xinjiang’s cotton two years ago. Other celebrities including famous singer and actor Wang Sibo also announced the termination of advertising contracts with ‘H&M’ and Nike. According to foreign analysts and governments, more than one million people have been imprisoned and forced to work in the Xinjiang province of China.
US, UK and Canada ban Chinese officials
Most of the people working in these camps in China are from the Uygar Muslim ethnic group. On Monday, the European Union, the United States, Britain and Canada jointly announced the imposition of travel restrictions and financial sanctions on four senior Chinese officials. In a program on China’s state television on Wednesday, it was said, how can H&M eat Chinese rice and break that pot.
China pressures companies to say things
Beijing often takes action or pressures on foreign clothing brands, auto brands, travel and other brands. This is done so that these companies can make their official statements on Taiwan, Tibet and other sensitive issues in line with the Chinese government. Companies are forced to do so in order to gain access to China’s large market. But Xinjiang is a different type of issue. Because of not speaking on Xinjiang, these companies have to face criticism from the people in their country.
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