Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong urge boycott of cosmetics giant Lancome

Dozens of protesters gathered Wednesday outside a mall in the central Causeway Bay business district to demonstrate against cosmetics brand Lancome’s decision to cancel a concert featuring prodemocracy Cantonese pop star Denise Ho Wansze, an epa journalist reported.

Around 35 protesters, including prominent prodemocracy activists Nathan Law Kwunchung and Joshua Wong Chifung, held placards and shouted slogans outside the Times Square mall as they called for a global boycott of the company.

Pandemocratic legislators Claudia Mo Manching, Fernando Cheung Chiuhung and ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwokhung were also present at the rally, while League of Social Democrats party chairman Avery Ng Manyuen demanded an apology from Lancome’s parent company L’Oreal, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.

Lancome closed its beauty counter at the mall and at other department stores across the special administrative region ahead of the protest, although other brands under the L’Oreal Group including Shu Uemura, Kiehl’s and Body Shop did not follow suit.

The French cosmetics giant had on Jun. 5 called off its promotional concert scheduled for Jun. 19 citing “possible safety reasons” after the Chinese staterun Global Times newspaper condemned it for inviting Ho, “a Hong Kong and Tibet independence advocate... to promote their products”.

The singer, who met with the Dalai Lama in May and in 2014 took part in the prodemocracy Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong, is considered a controversial figure on the Chinese mainland and has been blacklisted by media there over her stance.

Ho accused Lancome in a Facebook post on Jun. 6 of bowing to a “bullying hegemony” and jeopardizing her reputation.

“It is unjust when people have to be punished for speaking out, standing up and seeking for these rights we consider to be basic human rights,” she added.