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European business officials warn China over consequences of boycott |
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Written by Christopher Bodeen, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Saturday, 26 April 2008 |
A Chinese protester holds up a card which reads: "French foreigner, China is not easily bullied!" during a protest outside a Carrefour supermaket in Hefei, central China's Anhui province, Saturday, April 19, 2008. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/EyePress
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BEIJING - European businessmen say calls in China for a boycott of French products over pro-Tibetan protests abroad could spark a backlash against Chinese exports.
France and high-profile French retailer Carrefour have been singled out by Chinese nationalists upset by what they consider China-bashing by the protesters.
A raucous demonstration during the Olympic torch relay in Paris on April 7 is considering by many of the nationalists to have been particularly insulting to Chinese pride.
Their anger climaxed last weekend with protests outside the French Embassy in Beijing and at Carrefour outlets in at least nine Chinese cities.
Calls to boycott French products have circulated mainly on the Internet, the realm mainly of college students and young urban Chinese, buoyed by the government's initial blessing of the protests.
But Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, says any large-scale boycott would likely hurt Chinese workers and companies and could be met by similar action against Chinese products in Europe.
"This kind of thing is a slippery slope downhill," Wuttke told reporters in Beijing. "Once you start talking about boycotts, there will always be retaliation on the other side. Where do you stop?"
The number of protesters outside Carrefour outlets was estimated to range from several dozen to 1,000. They waved Chinese flags, unfurled anti-French and anti-Carrefour banners, sang patriotic songs and burned French flags.
In the southern city of Zhuzhou, protesters reportedly attacked a young American teacher after he emerged from a local Carrefour, although details were sketchy.
Accounts on numerous Internet boards said the man was punched, pushed and chased and was only rescued by police after taking refuge in a taxi. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said it had no information it could release about the incident under rules requiring a privacy waver.
Huang Guihua, an official with the foreign affairs office of the Zhuzhou School Affiliated with Beijing Normal University, said the man was a teacher at the school, but denied there had been an assault.
"He had the wrong feeling that the protest was about foreigners in general," Huang said. "Then he started to panic and thought he might go for help."
China's government has since indicated it would like to seen the protesters tone down their demonstrations.
On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the Carrefour demonstrations were "encouraging and touching," but added that "we do not agree with some people's radical actions."
China's Ministry of Commerce also welcomed recent statements by Carrefour denying that it supported exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
"We also noticed that recently the French government and enterprises have taken actions that improve and preserve the mutual relationship," the ministry said. "We welcome their expression."
Chinese newspapers on Wednesday pointed out that 95 per cent of the products sold by Carrefour in China are produced domestically, and that it directly employs 40,000 Chinese.
"European supermarkets in China mainly sell Chinese products and mainly employ Chinese people. This is worth bearing in mind," said Michael O'Sullivan, secretary general of the EU chamber.
Anger against Carrefour appeared to have extended to its Chinese website. On Wednesday, it posted a note saying it was undergoing "upgrade and maintenance" - an apparent sign it had been hacked.
Even amid the changed tone, China reasserted its hard line against the Dalai Lama, whose supporters it accuses of instigating deadly riots in Lhasa, Tibet's capital, on March 14.
Beijing has labelled the Lhasa riot and related protests in Tibetan areas an attempt to split the region from China and to sabotage the Beijing Olympics.
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http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/04/dalai-lamas-secular-commission.html
.... before the Olympics if at all possible.