H & M’s problems in Asia compiled over ‘problematic’ map

Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg

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

H & M’s Shanghai unit was called by two of the city’s regulators to correct image errors, and the company said it would do the correction, according to the local arm of the Cyberspace Administration of China. on Friday. It did not elaborate on the corrections ordered, and it is not immediately clear which card is on H & M’s website.

The newspaper Saigon Giai Phong changed by infringing on the Swedish company’s map of Vietnam’s seaworthiness, citing the chairman of one of the country’s consumer rights associations. H & M’s spokespersons in China and Stockholm did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside office hours.

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H&M recently cites a well-known example of foreign companies being punished for exceeding China’s political lines as they face the plight of the government’s anger at clothing retailers criticizing human rights abuses in the cotton-producing Xinjiang region .

It has been 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 in forced labor. H & M’s stores have disappeared from Apple Maps and Baidu Maps searches, and some stores in smaller cities have been closed by landlords.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea and backs up its claim with a 1947 map showing vague lines – the so-called nine-line line – which descends to a point about 1,800 kilometers south of its Hainan Island. Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan claim parts of the same maritime territory and have clashed with China over what claims are valid.

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

On the Internet, Vietnamese consumers have criticized H & M’s reports that they have been assigned to Chinese authorities. Some have called for a boycott of H & M’s products, called on the company to apologize and repair the changes to the map or close its stores in Vietnam, Saigon Giai Phong said.

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