How the conflict around carrefour in China in 2008 developed
Created by shangnan on Jun 1, 2008
Last updated: 03/11/10 at 09:36 AM
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Der US-Marktforscher Nielsen rechnet damit, dass die Investitionen der Werbekunden in Fernsehspots, Anzeigen und Internetkampagnen in China gegenüber dem Vorjahr mit "hohen zweistelligen" Raten wachsen werden. Damit würden nationale und internationale Konzerne die weltweiten Ausgaben auf ein Rekordniveau bringen. Schon 2007 wurden auf dem Werbemarkt in China rund 60 Mrd. $ umgesetzt. [Lachman20080522ObC]
Carrefour donates RMB 2m for earthquake victims
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated Thursday outside stores belonging to French supermarket chain Carrefour in four cities in China, state media reported, in a new sign of anti-French sentiment.
Holding Chinese national flags, they shouted slogans against Carrefour and against independence for Tibet, the Xinhua news agency said.
The protesters also expressed support for the Beijing Olympics outside the Carrefour stores in Changsha, capital of the central province of Hunan, Fuzhou in the southeast, Shenyang in the northeast, and Chongqing in the southwest.
AFP could not immediately confirm the rallies, but Xinhua said hundreds of protesters turned up at 10:00am (0200 GMT) at a Carrefour store in Changsha.
They held banners saying "Support Olympics", "Oppose Tibet Independence", "Love China", and "Unity is Power", the news agency said, while around 200 of them tried to persuade people not to go into the store.
http://www.france24.com/en/20080501-protests-carrefour-stores-china-state-media-1?q=node/1562810//2
MOC: China welcomes Carrefour's statement against Tibet independence
BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday welcomed French retail giant Carrefour's statement that opposes Tibet independence and supports Beijing Olympics.
China noted the French government and companies had taken positive action to improve and safeguard bilateral relations, and firms including Carrefour have issued statements to oppose Tibet independence and support the Beijing Olympics, an MOC official said.
"We welcomed these actions," the official said in a statement.
"We hope foreign-funded companies, including Carrefour, can do their utmost to provide quality services for Chinese consumers," the official said.
Carrefour, which entered China's market in 1995, employed more than 40,000 local workers, accounting for 99 percent of all its staff at its Chinese outlets, the official said.
The retail giant has 112 stores on the Chinese mainland.
It also has annual sales of nearly 30 billion yuan in China, 95percent of the sales coming from made-in-China products, the official added.
Carrefour has been accused by Chinese Internet users of supporting the Dalai Lama group, which Carrefour China denied in a statement on Wednesday.
In response also to protests in Paris and elsewhere in Europe against the Olympic torch relay, Chinese protesters took to the streets of several cities last weekend, calling for a boycott of Carrefour.
Chinese protestors chanted slogans, including "Oppose Tibet independence" and "Oppose CNN's anti-China statements", expressing indignation over western media's biased reports over Chinese government's handling of the unrest in Tibet last month.
Many newspapers and Internet portals, including the "anti-cnn" website and the People's Daily, have published statements calling for rational expressions of patriotism.
French Senate President Christian Poncelet conveyed on Monday in Shanghai President Nicolas Sarkozy's sympathy note to Jin Jing, a wheelchair-bound fencer who struggled with a protestor over possession of the Olympic torch during the relay in Paris.
"I understand that the Chinese people's feelings were hurt by what went on that day, and especially by the intolerable attack you suffered and which I condemn with the utmost force," Poncelet read from President Sarkozy's letter.
"What happened in Paris on April 7 has engendered a feeling of bitterness in your country. I want to assure you that the incidents that were brought about by a few people on this sad day don't reflect the feelings of my fellow countrymen for the Chinese people," the letter says.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/23/content_8031632.htm
PARIS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The chairman of French supermarket chain Carrefour said Tuesday that calls for boycott of Beijing Olympics were acts with ulterior motives, and Carrefour would make its utmost efforts to support the Olympics.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Carrefour Chairman Jose Luis Duran also denied reports that his company supported Tibetan separatists.
Duran said China was given the honor of hosting the 2008 Olympics, which is an opportunity for China to present its achievements since the adoption of the opening-up policy.
The chairman said he himself has witnessed changes in China during past years. Such changes have also brought about joint development for Carrefour and its partners since it entered the Chinese market 13 years ago.
Therefore, Carrefour will go all out to support the Beijing Olympics and he will also attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics, Duran said.
Referring to calls for boycotting Carrefour in some cities across China, Duran expressed his understanding for the Chinese people's emotion, saying that "Obviously, recent sabotage incidents in Paris during the Olympic torch relay hurt feelings ofthe Chinese people, made them angry and triggered their protests."
"I hope that the preparations for the Olympics will be implemented with a harmonious atmosphere. The success of the Beijing Olympics will benefit all the people," he added.
Duran also expressed his condemnation over the violent activities during the April 7 torch relay in Paris by Tibetan separatists, who attacked handicapped Chinese girl Jin Jing and attempted to rob the torch from her for several times.
Meanwhile, Duran denied that Carrefour's Singapore branch provided funds for Dalai Lama, saying that "these allegations are groundless. Carrefour and its branches have given no direct or indirect support to any political or religious group."
"Whether in China or anywhere else, Carrefour has never done these and will never do these," he said.
In addition, when asked about an allegation on the Internet that Carrefour's branch in China's Wuhan City lowered a flag to half-mast to express sympathy for Tibetan separatists after the outbreak of the March 14 riots in Lhasa, Duran said he didn't know the story.
Duran said if it had happened, he would express his strongest condemnation. The chairman reiterated that as a business group, Carrefour's headquarters, branches and any store do not interfere in internal affairs of any foreign countries. [Xinhua20080423CcC]
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/23/content_8034795.htm
Sarkozy writes letter of apology to wheelchair sportswoman. Visiting French Senate President Christian Poncelet made a special trip to meet with Chinese torchbearer Jin Jing upon his arrival in Shanghai Monday morning.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/21/content_8020551.htm
The rallies spread on Sunday to Jinan and Harbin. [Xinhua20080421Csi]
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/21/content_8022197.htm
Experts say patriotism understandable, but urge people to be rational
BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Expressing understanding about patriotism among those calling to boycott French retailer Carrefour, several senior Chinese intellectuals Saturday called on the public to choose a rational way to express their love for the country.
"What happened in France showed that some French did lack true understanding of China, including the Tibet issue," said Prof. Zhou Xing, with the College of Art and Communication of Beijing Normal University.
"But I think what we should do is to improve foreigners' understanding about China. We had better not turn extreme," he said.
Online and text message calls for boycotts of French Carrefour and other foreign retailers has been spreading in China in response to the disruptions of the Olympic torch relay in Paris.
Chinese Internet search engine Baidu turns up about 211,000 entries supporting a boycott of Carrefour by Wednesday.
"Of course, we are angry with disruption of the Olympic torch relay and the activities to split China as well as feel sorry about their irrational behaviors," said Prof. Zhang Shengjun, deputy dean of Institute of Political Science and International Studies of the Beijing Normal University. "We should not be as irrational as them when voicing patriotism."
Being a responsible country, China should develop friendship with other countries, he said. "I think it will be a better way to win understanding and support worldwide by introducing the positive side of the country and people."
When China is ever most connected with the world, it will have to deal with conflicts, said Zhang Xingxing, deputy director of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies. "Whether or not it handles them well affects the country's future development."
"Those disrupting the torch relay in Paris did not stand for the whole French people," he said, suggesting that, as the Olympic host, Chinese first show their friendliness to win those holding bias against the country.
Carrefour China released a statement on Wednesday at its website which pledges that Carrefour has not and will not do anything to hurt Chinese people's feelings.
It insists that the allegations that Carrefour supports illegal political organizations are totally fabricated and lack evidence.
"It is understandable for Chinese to express patriotism and we can choose a rational way to do it," said Prof. Guang Huai with the School of Law of Renmin University of China.
Peaceful protests against "Tibet independence" supporters in some western countries took place in a few Chinese cities including Beijing on Saturday
[Xinhua20080420Esp]
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/20/content_8013095.htm
Demonstrations against "Tibet independence" spurted up on Saturday in a few Chinese cities, including Beijing, Xi'an, Hefei,Qingdao, Wuhan and Kunming.
1000-2000 participants according to Xinhua
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/21/content_8022197.htm
Carrefour makes first public statement source: Phoenix weekly (Chinese Magazine)
Chinese Internet search engine Baidu turns up about 211,000 entries supporting a boycott of Carrefour by Wednesday. [Xinhua20080420Esp]
Chinese netizens urge Carrefour boycott after torch relay incident
BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Online and text message calls for boycotts of French Carrefour and other foreign retailers are circulating in China in response to the disruptions of the Olympic torch relay in Paris.
The calls attempted to mobilize Chinese citizens to boycott purchases in chain stores of Carrefour and Louis Vuitton, a French luxury brand, and Body shop, a cosmetics retailer belonging to L'Oreal SA.
Chinese Internet search engine Baidu turns up about 211,000 entries supporting a boycott of Carrefour. Similar calls have circulated on www.qq.com, a popular chat site, and through mobile phone text messages.
The financial and economic channel of the popular portal www.netease.com posted a survey about a boycott of French products. Among the 43,880 respondents, 95.4 percent were in favor.
The public relations manager of Carrefour in Shanghai, Li Jing, said that the chain had started an investigation of the calls.
"Some Chinese have expressed their opinions and feelings. This is not a coincidence and the French side needs to ponder and reflect upon them," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu when asked about the Carrefour boycott.
"I believe people will abide by laws and regulations in expressing their reasonable appeals," Jiang added.
On April 7, the torch relay in Paris was interrupted many times. The most notable incident was when several supporters of "Tibetan independence" rushed to wheelchair-bound torch bearer JinJing and tried to snatch away the torch.
However, not everyone in the online community agreed with the of boycott. Some pointed out that Carrefour's staff in China were mostly Chinese nationals, who would be hurt by a sales boycott. Others said a boycott wouldn't do anything to penalize backers of "Tibetan independence".
Bai Yansong, a well-known anchorman of China Central Television(CCTV), and He Yanguang, a prominent Chinese photojournalist, openly opposed the boycotts, expressing their concerns over the consequence of such boycotts.
Bai said in his blog that "most of the employees in Carrefour chain stores are Chinese and such boycotts are a kind of faction", calling on Chinese netizens to calm down and have rational emotions.
He Yanguang, chief photographer with China Youth Daily, said Carrefour sells thousands of domestically made products which are produced by millions of Chinese workers.
"If such boycotts are carried out, our Chinese people's interests will be first harmed," He said.
Carrefour China released a statement on Wednesday at its website which pledges that Carrefour has not and will not do anything to hurt Chinese people's feelings.
It insists that the allegations that Carrefour supports illegal political organizations are totally fabricated and lack evidence, noting that the company reserves the right to appeal against any individual or organization who creates and spreads such rumors [Xinhua20080416Cnu]
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/16/content_7989807.htm
A group of demonstrators protest before the Carrefour in city of Qingdao, Shandong Province, April 13, 2008. [Zhang20080416Cba]
http://www.china.org.cn/china/Lhasa_Unrest/2008-04/16/content_14966297.htm
1st demonstration at Carrefour Beijing
Anti Carrefour protests emerge on Internet
Torch ceremony interrupted in Paris
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/07/oly.torchrelay/index.html
France is demanding that China start talks with the Dalai Lama and release political prisoners as a condition for President Nicolas Sarkozy to attend the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, according to a French media report.
http://www.france24.com/en/20080405-paris-sets-terms-sarkozys-olympics-visit-france-olympics-2008
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