By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, June 7: The International beauty and luxury skincare brand Lancome, part of the French cosmetics giant L’Oreal has cancelled a concert scheduled for June 19 in Hong Kong following the Chinese government’s opposition to a performance by Hong Kong based singer and pro-democracy advocate Denise Ho in the same concert.
Chinese state run tabloid Global Times which has over 4 million followers on Weibo (Chinese equivalent of Twitter) criticized Lancome for inviting the singer regarded as a pro-independence advocate for Hong Kong and a sympathizer of the Tibetan cause. The Cantonese pop star took part in the 2014 pro-democracy Occupy protests in Hong Kong, and visited Dharamshala and met with the Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama last month.
Following the censure and Chinese netizens from the mainland, Lancome cancelled the concert citing “possible safety reasons,”.
Denise Ho called on the brand to provide clarifications in a statement saying, “seriously misleading the public and tarnishing my personal reputation”. She further said, “I understood that the decision was made by the brand’s head office in France, and I urge it to come clean on the decision, to clear my name and give the public a reasonable explanation.”
“The world’s values have been seriously twisted when we face punishment for seeking freedom, justice and equality, and we must face the problem when an international brand like Lancome is kneeling down in the face of this bullying hegemony,” she added.
Netizens from both the mainland and Hong Kong condemned the brand for conflicting reasons; while some mainlanders assumed the official Chinese government stance, many Hong Kongers accused the company of bowing to pressure from the Chinese government. Maria Wong from Hong Kong wrote, “If u think there is an issue about the safety in HK. Go merchandise somewhere else but HK. Leave Hong Kong market.” L’Oreal lists China as its second biggest market.
Chinese government banning international figures and celebrities who are supportive of the Dalai Lama or the Tibetan cause is not new. Just recently, American pop-star Selena Gomez was made to cancel her tour in China after she posted a picture of herself with the Tibetan leader. Bon-Jovi, Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, actor Brad Pitt and Richard Gere are some of the names banned in China for supporting Tibet or the Dalai Lama.
