The Dolce & Gabbana saga in Hong Kong
For the past two weeks, angry Hong Kong residents have been protesting outside the Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana's (D&G) flagship store in downtown Hong Kong for discriminating against local residents and catering only to rich clients from the mainland.
There are, so far, two different versions on why the incident occurred. According to Women Wears Daily and Styleite, "a Hong Kong resident passing by the store tried to take a picture and was asked to stop by a D&G employee. The going theory is that there was a government official from Mainland China in the store who didn't want to be seen dropping major yuan on luxury goods, for fear that people might think he was spending the government's money. This practice, infringing on the rights of Hong Kong residents to protect wealthier, more powerful people from the Mainland has gotten people who live in Hong Kong upset. And while it's a small incidence of mistreatment, it's become the focus of anger for Hong Kong people who feel their town is being invaded by Mainlanders and foreigners at their expense."
The second version according to Apple Daily via The Observers was that the controversy all started on January 5, when a photographer gave an interview to the Apple Daily newspaper in which he claimed that D&G's security guards stopped him from taking a picture of the store's window displays. He said store employees told him that the store was private property and that only people from mainland China and foreign tourists were allowed to step through its doors.
For the past two weeks, we witnessed crowds ranging from tens on a weekday to thousands on weekends, non-stop protesting. The power of social media also took a great part in this drama. A Facebook group, D&G 門口萬人影相活動 was set up calling for ten thousand photographers to march on to the D&G store. Within days after the Facebook group was launched, a whopping 23,000-plus people signed up.
The Italian fashion giant finally apologized early this morning. A press statement was issued around 2:00am stating "We understand that the events which unfolded in front of the Dolce & Gabbana boutique on Canton Road have offended the citizens of Hong Kong, and for this we are truly sorry and we apologise. The Dolce & Gabbana policy is to welcome the Hong Kong people and that of the whole world respecting the rights of each individual and of the local laws."
So far, the feedback on the Facebook group been negative. The public was not satisfied as the apology was not formal enough and was not posted on D&G's website. The saga is expected to continue well into the Chinese New Year holidays.
Yet another incident to prove how effective social media can be used to blow matters up. Embedded some video clips below for you all to get the feel of what's happening.
There are, so far, two different versions on why the incident occurred. According to Women Wears Daily and Styleite, "a Hong Kong resident passing by the store tried to take a picture and was asked to stop by a D&G employee. The going theory is that there was a government official from Mainland China in the store who didn't want to be seen dropping major yuan on luxury goods, for fear that people might think he was spending the government's money. This practice, infringing on the rights of Hong Kong residents to protect wealthier, more powerful people from the Mainland has gotten people who live in Hong Kong upset. And while it's a small incidence of mistreatment, it's become the focus of anger for Hong Kong people who feel their town is being invaded by Mainlanders and foreigners at their expense."
The second version according to Apple Daily via The Observers was that the controversy all started on January 5, when a photographer gave an interview to the Apple Daily newspaper in which he claimed that D&G's security guards stopped him from taking a picture of the store's window displays. He said store employees told him that the store was private property and that only people from mainland China and foreign tourists were allowed to step through its doors.
For the past two weeks, we witnessed crowds ranging from tens on a weekday to thousands on weekends, non-stop protesting. The power of social media also took a great part in this drama. A Facebook group, D&G 門口萬人影相活動 was set up calling for ten thousand photographers to march on to the D&G store. Within days after the Facebook group was launched, a whopping 23,000-plus people signed up.
The Italian fashion giant finally apologized early this morning. A press statement was issued around 2:00am stating "We understand that the events which unfolded in front of the Dolce & Gabbana boutique on Canton Road have offended the citizens of Hong Kong, and for this we are truly sorry and we apologise. The Dolce & Gabbana policy is to welcome the Hong Kong people and that of the whole world respecting the rights of each individual and of the local laws."
So far, the feedback on the Facebook group been negative. The public was not satisfied as the apology was not formal enough and was not posted on D&G's website. The saga is expected to continue well into the Chinese New Year holidays.
Yet another incident to prove how effective social media can be used to blow matters up. Embedded some video clips below for you all to get the feel of what's happening.
About the Blogger
A true tech junkie at heart, Victor Cheung has been obsessed with all tech gadgets since his college days. His favorite gizmos span from tablet PCs to UMPC, to PMPs, gaming consoles, mobile phones and anything with WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0 on it. A newcomer to the blog scene, he started his own quasi-tech blog, The Hong Kong Phooey in October 2006.
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