• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Hong Kong protest shoppers show their true colours

by onlinecitizen
15/01/2020
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

Hong Kong, China - November 01, 2019: Protest in Hong Kong people protest on the street in hong kong. More than 100,000 protesters took to the street of Hong Kong on a controversial extradition bill (Photo by Guida Simoes from Shutterstock).

by Xinqi SU and Ayaka MCGILL

Seven months of unrest have taken a heavy toll on many Hong Kong businesses, but pro-democracy protesters are now seeking to reward shops and restaurants that support their cause by building a “yellow” economy.

In contrast, “blue” pro-government and pro-China businesses are frequent targets for vandalism or boycotts.

At Fu Kee Noodles in Wan Chai, diners slurp wonton under the watchful gaze of a gas mask-wearing Pepe the Frog, which has become a mascot of the pro-democracy movement.

“This is a yellow shop, the boss supports the protesters, so we decided to come,” said a 47-year-old advertising employee calling himself Gilbert.

“The most important thing in Hong Kong now is that we need to help each other, especially when the government does not help us.”

Posters and post-it notes with pro-democracy messages cover the wall by the cashier.

Owner Kwong Chun-hin, 30, told AFP he hopes the yellow-blue tagging will become a trend “because this is good for us. I mean not just my shop, I mean all shops”.

Showing support

Some businesses openly advertise their sympathies, undeterred by the possible loss of revenues. Apps and websites advise users on which way shops and restaurants sway.

At her bakery in Sai Wan district, Naomi Suen sells cookies and mooncakes decorated with protest slogans.

“I don’t know the exact definition of the yellow economy. I am just doing what I can to support Hong Kong people,” Suen told AFP.

In Hung Hom, site of some of the most violent clashes of the movement in November when students barricaded themselves inside a university, diners queuing outside Lung Mun Cafe expressed a similar sentiment.

“We want to support this restaurant because it supports the whole movement… supports democracy,” said a 26-year-old man named Justin.

Eateries, shops and other properties branded “blue”, meanwhile, have been attacked by black-clad vandals wielding petrol bombs. Many Chinese bank branches are boarded up or protected by metal shutters after their windows were smashed.

Dozens of restaurants belonging to local catering giant Maxim’s were ransacked after the daughter of the group’s founder labelled protesters “rioters” and said she had given up on Hong Kong’s young.

Starbucks, which in Hong Kong is operated by Maxim’s, has seen its shops trashed.

With retail sales down and tourist numbers plunging, the economy appears headed for its first annual contraction since 2009.

‘Driven by strong belief’

The government has blamed the protests but the US-China trade war has also had an impact.

Despite growing polarisation, divisions between yellow and blue are not always so clear-cut.

The founders of HKongs Mall, an online shopping platform launched after the protests erupted, say they are trying to ease the city’s reliance on goods from mainland China.

The site has seen orders rise more than 20-fold since its October debut and now employs 15 protesters.

But it still has to buy from “blue” suppliers, who remain a majority in the market, conceded a volunteer e-commerce manager at the firm who requested anonymity.

“Our first step is to provide choices for people. If the consumers agree with your ideology then they will buy goods from you,” she told AFP.

“If we don’t have to rely on Chinese merchants and their capital, then we will be successful.”

But analysts say the protest movement is unlikely to reshape the city’s economic landscape.

“The economic pillars of Hong Kong — finance, logistics and real estate — are controlled by one or a few companies, which means it’s largely impossible for consumers to rock the boat,” said Andrew Yuen Chi-lok of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s business school.

However, Jacky Fung, a researcher at the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute, said “yellow” shoppers are adding fresh impetus to the protests and challenging the idea that civil rights activism always incurs economic consequences from Beijing.

“In a general downturn, such consumption, particularly consumption driven by a strong belief in human rights, can be very powerful,” Fung said.

– AFP

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.
Source: AFP
Tags: AFP

Related Posts

Chinese property giant Evergrande under ‘tremendous pressure’
China

Chinese property giant Evergrande under ‘tremendous pressure’

14/09/2021
Australia’s capital Canberra to enter virus lockdown
Health

Virus lockdown extended for Australia’s capital

14/09/2021
Messenger RNA COVID vaccines 66% effective against Delta: US study
Health

UK to vaccinate over 12s against COVID

14/09/2021
Politics

Facebook shields VIPs from some of its rules: report

14/09/2021
Malaysian PM, opposition in deal to boost stability
Malaysia

Malaysian PM, opposition in deal to boost stability

14/09/2021
China pledges 300,000 vaccine doses for UN peacekeepers
Health

No need for a vaccine third jab booster: study

13/09/2021
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

One third of Amazon ‘degraded’ by human activity, drought: study

One third of Amazon ‘degraded’ by human activity, drought: study

27/01/2023
Luxembourg court sets aside Sulu heirs’ attachment order to enforce US$15b claim against Malaysia

Luxembourg court sets aside Sulu heirs’ attachment order to enforce US$15b claim against Malaysia

27/01/2023
Philippines to appeal ICC resumption of drug war probe

Philippines to appeal ICC resumption of drug war probe

27/01/2023

ASEAN governments must stop using ‘lawfare’ against critics, Southeast Asian MPs say

27/01/2023
Low Yen Ling says MTI and MAS don’t expect persistent inflation but they now say inflation projected to “stay elevated”

Low Yen Ling says MTI and MAS don’t expect persistent inflation but they now say inflation projected to “stay elevated”

27/01/2023
Malaysian court sentences man to 1,050 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, for raping stepdaughter 105 times

Thai court jails activist for 28 years jail for royal defamation

26/01/2023
Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

26/01/2023
KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

26/01/2023

Trending posts

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
32

...

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
28

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
42

...

Hong Kong protest shoppers show their true colours

by onlinecitizen
15/01/2020
0

...

“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

AGC asked to explain purposes of 68 private letters of inmates illegitimately forwarded to prosecutors

by The Online Citizen
21/01/2023
16

...

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

by The Online Citizen
26/01/2023
32

...

January 2020
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Dec   Feb »
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
  • Contact Us

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

wpDiscuz