Amazon faces backlash over pro-Hong Kong merchandise

Global e-commerce giant Amazon has been heavily criticised on Chinese social media for allowing pro-Hong Kong merchandise to be sold on its platform.

Amazon.cn has been shut down in China since July, although products on its US website can still be shipped into the country.

The pro-Hong Kong merchandise included T-shirts with protest messages and critical of the Chinese administration of Hong Kong. They have drawn a strong backlash against the firm online centred around the trending topic “Amazon T-Shirts”. Comments accuse Amazon of gross insensitivity towards the Chinese people and the territorial integrity of China.

“Amazon has always and will continue to acknowledge the longstanding and widely-recognised policy of ‘one China, two systems’,” read a statement issued by the firm in response to the outrage. “Every country where we operate has different laws, and we will continue to respect those local laws where we do business.”

The company is one of a number of firms that have been singled out for their perceived support of Hong Kong independence from the mainland, including several fashion labels whose Chinese brand ambassadors have severed ties over the issue.

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