søndag 2. mai 2021

Xinjiang Cotton and the Shift in China’s Censorship Approach

Chinese celebrities are severing ties with foreign brands, TV platforms are blurring logos of the offending companies, and domestic clothing brands are doubling-down on their support for cotton produced in Xinjiang. Foreign journalists accused of “inciting” the companies to distance themselves from the mass detention and forced labor in Xinjiang are the subject of vitriolic online attack. Cotton sourced from Xinjiang supplies 85 percent of China’s cotton and 20 percent of the worldwide cotton supply, but nationalist Chinese netizens are increasingly intolerant of any action they believe constitutes “bullying” China.

This debacle reveals underlying trends not only in how foreign companies must navigate their business environment amidst the Xinjiang genocide but also in China’s information management of politically sensitive issues.