Zara's deeds more important than words

On Monday, demonstrators in Hong Kong called for a "strike", asking schools, shops, and factories to close for one day in "protest" against the local government. Their call elicited little response from Hong Kong residents, but some outlets of clothing brand Zara kept their shutters down. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

Some photographs on social media networks show some Zara outlets were closed on Monday, prompting some people to reportedly ask Zara to explain why they were closed.

Zara issued a "statement" on Monday night via its micro blog account, saying it has always supported the territorial integrity of China and the "one country, two systems", and "never supported any strike". So why were some of its outlets closed?

The common interests of the residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region lie in maintaining social order and the rule of law, and helping the SAR prosper. The "strike" call was aimed at disturbing Hong Kong's social order and harming the city's economy. That's why the majority of Hong Kong residents and businesses rejected the "strike" call.

But since its outlets were closed, people might get the impression that Zara supports the demonstrators, and many of them may choose to boycott the brand, causing Zara heavy losses.

In response to Zara's "statement" on its micro blog, which is mainly in the Chinese language, one netizen said: "Please make a statement in English, on Twitter and Facebook." If the clothing brand issues a statement only in Chinese, some consumers might think it has done so to please Chinese consumers, not out of sincerity.

If Zara really wants to win back the trust of Chinese consumers, it should issue a statement on other social media platforms in English saying it does not support the Hong Kong insurrectionists.