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Jun Mai

A group of Chinese scholars will publish a report in November identifying companies on the Fortune Global 500 list that they say do not properly label Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau as territories of the People’s Republic of China.
Among the firms to be named and shamed is CK Hutchison Holdings – once run by the now retired Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing – which according to Zhi Zhenfeng, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and lead author of the study, is guilty of “inappropriately labelling” the territories.
Some details of the report have already been published by China’s state media.

Despite the allegation, CK Hutchison said on Thursday that its websites always listed Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as regions or markets, and never as countries.
But Zhi said that even listing cities and provinces as regions was problematic.
“On those lists, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan look like independent entities and there is no clear explanation that they are part of China,” he said.
He said he was unable to provide a copy of the report before its official release.

In recent years Beijing has accused numerous multinational brands of failing to comply with its demands on how Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan should be labelled.
Last month, American leather goods manufacturer Coach issued a statement saying it “respects and supports China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” after it faced a backlash for a T-shirt design that listed Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan separately from China.
A similar witch hunt broke out in May 2018, when the Civil Aviation Administration of China, backed by nationalistic media outlets, put pressure on foreign airlines to identify the three places as being part of the same country. Washington described Beijing’s campaign as “Orwellian nonsense”.
Zhi said his report looked at how Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were listed on the websites of all of the companies on last year’s Fortune 500 list and found 127 examples of “mistaken” or “inappropriate” labelling.

Among the other so-called offenders were Hong Kong-based AIA Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s biggest contract chip maker.
Zhi, whose team produced a similar report on the companies that made up the 2017 Fortune Global 500 list, described the study as a success.
He said it would force more companies to change the way they referred to Chinese territories, as Siemens had done. Hong Kong is now listed as “Hong Kong (China)” on the German conglomerate’s website.
“We will conduct more research of this kind and look into international aviation companies in our future reports,” Zhi said.


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Cheung Kong

Chinese report ‘names and shames’ Fortune 500 firms for mislabelling its territories

CK Hutchison Holdings, once run by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, is among the firms to be named and shamed in the report. Photo: Sam Tsang

Signage for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is displayed at the company's headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. TSMC Chairman Mark Liu†didn't reaffirm a previous forecast that the company will grow slightly in 2019, saying uncertainty was too great at the moment. Photographer: Ashley Pon/Bloomberg

Exterior view of COACH store at the International Finance Centre (IFC) in Central. 01NOV17 SCMP / Nora Tam

A road sign shows the way to the entrance of the Siemens factory in Nuremberg, southern Germany, on March 10, 2016. German engineering giant Siemens said it would slash 2,500 jobs from its industrial division in a reorganisation to cope with a slump in the oil and gas as well as the metals and mining sectors. / AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOF STACHE

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American brand Coach moves quickly to quell online fury in China over T-shirt listing Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as separate entities. Photo: Weibo

Backstage at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai on November 20, 2017.

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Hong Kong is one area Chinese President Xi Jinping has singled out as a challenge to the Communist Party. Photo: Reuters

epa07816594 Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is displayed on a TV screen during a pre-recorded televised address, at a restaurant in Hong Kong, China, 04 Sept. 2019. Lam announced on the day of the withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill to mainland China that sparked months of protests, unrest and alleged police brutality in Hong Kong. The full withdrawal of the bill, which was introduced in April and then suspended in June, is one of five key demands of protesters, who are demanding for full democratic rights. EPA-EFE/JEROME FAVRE

(190903) -- BEIJING, Sept. 3, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, makes a speech during the opening ceremony of a training program for young and middle-aged officials at the Party School of CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), Sept. 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

Mainland Chinese media names and shames foreign airlines that refuse to comply with ‘Orwellian’ Taiwan demands

Foreign carriers such as British Airways have started listing Taiwan as part of China following the demand from the authorities in Beijing. Photo: AP

A display board showing arrival flights at the Hong Kong International Airport. 07SEP17 SCMP / Roy Issa

FILE - In this June 12, 2012, file photo, an Air China flight attendant stands near model planes at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 68th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Beijing. Global airlines are obeying Beijing's demands to refer to Taiwan explicitly as a part of China, despite the White House's call this month to stand firm against such "Orwellian nonsense." (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

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China

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Hong Kong


Researchers produce study to highlight ‘failings’ of firms like CK Hutchison Holdings, AIA Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Report finds 127 examples of ‘mistaken’ or ‘inappropriate’ labelling on companies’ websites



Researchers produce study to highlight ‘failings’ of firms like CK Hutchison Holdings, AIA Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.


Hutchison Whampoa

Taiwan

Chinese report ‘names and shames’ Fortune 500 firms for mislabelling its territories

Researchers produce study to highlight ‘failings’ of firms like CK Hutchison Holdings, AIA Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Report finds 127 examples of ‘mistaken’ or ‘inappropriate’ labelling on companies’ websites

Researchers produce study to highlight ‘failings’ of firms like CK Hutchison Holdings, AIA Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Report finds 127 examples of ‘mistaken’ or ‘inappropriate’ labelling on companies’ websites