{"id":3390,"date":"2022-04-01T13:21:45","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T05:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cherry-insights.com\/media\/?p=3390"},"modified":"2023-05-24T12:02:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T04:02:58","slug":"luxurys-guide-to-navigating-censorship-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/?p=3390","title":{"rendered":"Luxury’s Guide To Navigating Censorship In China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

2021 will be remembered as the \u201cYear of the Crackdowns.\u201d An intensification of the Chinese government\u2019s authoritarian ideology saw greater restrictions on Chinese youth: from censorship of the media to a ban on \u201ceffeminate\u201d representations of men in idol culture. And, of course, President Xi Jinping\u2019s \u201cCommon Prosperity\u201d policy \u2014 casting a moral prejudice on tax evasion and the flaunting of wealth. All of this took place within the context of a country that now sees nationalism on the rise, forced to close its borders (due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis), and keen to promote traditional culture and values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Western brands, none of this is good news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And their (seemingly endless) faux pas aren\u2019t helping. Remember the social media backlash against Dior? An advert for one of their handbags was in the dock for failing to represent Asian beauty standards: with a tanned, freckled, small-eyed Asian model wearing traditional Chinese clothing. Nike, H&M, and Burberry were hammered over their stance on Xinjiang cotton. Not to mention Louis Vuitton and Bulgari\u2019s Kris Wu and Fendi\u2019s Zhao Wei \u2014 canceled for being \u201ctainted celebrities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chinese photographer Chen Man\u2019 s picture of \u201cghostly\u201d looking woman for the Dior\u2019s Art\u2019n\u2019Dior exhibition in 2021. Photo: Dior<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It goes without saying that labels should understand potential customers well enough not to offend them. More than ever, luxury needs to connect with modern Chinese culture: not least its political climate and social taboos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with communication mistakes. These can be categorized into two main classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important regards sensitive geopolitical topics such as Taiwan, Xinjiang, or Hong Kong \u2014 these represent a red line that Western businesses cannot cross. Any statement derogating the principle of China\u2019s unity leads to immediate backlash from both government and netizens. Take, for instance, the time when watch company Audemars Piguet\u2019s CEO referred to Taiwan as a \u201ccountry\u201d: their brand ambassador Lu Han (60 million followers on Weibo) instantly ended the collaboration. For the Chinese, notions of \u201charmony\u201d and the preservation of the \u201cGreat Unity\u201d of China \u2014 that is, China as a family \u2014 are incredibly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be no surprise that the Chinese are sensitive towards Western interference in their internal affairs. And the current intensification of nationalist sentiment has only compounded this. That said, such backlashes can be easily avoided. They are often the result of ignorance rather than a considered, if opposing, point of view. Headquarters should be educated about the geography and history of countries whose consumers they intend to court. China is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absolutes, while punishing, are at least easy to navigate. The second class \u2014 those sensitive topics unrelated to territorial integrity \u2014 represents a \u201cgray zone\u201d that can be more tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s a national consensus on political issues, societal topics like feminism, gender fluidity, and LGBTIQ+ are dividing Chinese society. More liberal, the younger generations support inclusive messaging; the government, meanwhile, promotes the conservative and the traditional. This saw the hit American TV show Friends censored, its lesbian storyline cut, on re-release (under the ban of all depictions of gay people on television issued in 2016, part of a cultural crackdown on \u201cvulgar, immoral and unhealthy content\u201d), which provoked much criticism from Chinese youth on social media. Similarly, Dior\u2019s appointment of transgender icon Jin Xing as their ambassador last year was widely applauded by young netizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jin Xing, ambassador of Dior J\u2019adore. Photo: Dior\u2019s Weibo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why didn\u2019t this choice didn\u2019t raise more controversy? The focus was placed on her outstanding artistic talent \u2014 and that she was speaking in the name of women in the campaign rather than the LGBTIQ+ community. To be successful in invoking such issues, firms can engage in more culturally accepted conversations: like women\u2019s empowerment, or challenging gender norms. Another strategy is using the power of authentic, emotional stories of how to \u201cbe yourself\u201d despite family and social injunctions. The main takeaway here: nuance is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond communication mistakes, there is the question of censorship. Media restrictions have a distinctly blurry character: they usually apply to national TV but not to social media, although some social media platforms would self-censor \u201csensitive content.\u201d For instance, following the ban on \u201ceffeminate men\u201d and \u201cabnormal aesthetics\u201d on TV last September, Douyin (Chinese TikTok) still blocked the accounts of cross-dressing influencers. But even the original ban \u2014 widely criticized as \u201csexist\u201d by young netizens  is unclear \u2014 the State Administration of Radio and Television doesn\u2019t provide any specific criteria qualifying what it meant by \u201csissy men.\u201d As it stands, men with heavy makeup haven\u2019t vanished from social media or brand communication. Givenchy Beauty is still endorsed by \u201clittle fresh meat\u201d idol Cai Xukun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, there is a growing trend for male celebrities to embody a more \u201cbalanced\u201d masculinity: men with a \u201ccute face\u201d but also a beard; muscles, too, perhaps; and wearing a look of determination. So, labels can keep the same models and ambassadors. It\u2019s a case of allowing their image to evolve in accordance with this current fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For brands, the most critical thing in avoiding any risk of backlash is to strictly respect government rules. But they must also be aware of the country\u2019s past, as much as the evolution of current public opinion and societal values.  This doesn\u2019t mean compromising their own. But it does entail greater care and diligence: in conducting systematic cultural and ethical audits of their communications so as to present them in a respectful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jing Daily<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[133,134,135,129,132,63,58],"class_list":["post-3390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-crackdown","tag-givenchy-beauty","tag-kris-wu","tag-lgbtq","tag-cai-xukun","tag-dior","tag-jin-xing"],"blocksy_meta":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3390"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4366,"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3390\/revisions\/4366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherry-insights.com\/media\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}