Campaign against French retail giant Carrefour gains strength
The campaign against French hypermart Carrefour appears to be gaining support with protesters threatening to mount more action against the company's branches on May 1.
This comes despite the retailer's management denying allegations it supports independence for Tibet.
Carrefour has come under fire on the mainland after the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay was beset by violent protests.
Rumours circulated online yesterday saying activists living in more than 17 mainland cities, including Beijing, Tianjin , Shanghai and Guangzhou, were secretly meeting to organise a series of nationwide demonstrations. The appeal for support has already attracted the attention of thousands of nationalists even though a date for action has not been announced.
One of the participants who gave his name as Tao Sheng said he would take part in a demonstration outside the Shenzhen branch of Carrefour on May 1 and also join in protests targeting the US-based broadcaster CNN this weekend.
The news broadcaster has been roundly criticised on the mainland after one of its commentators made derogatory remarks about the Chinese government and criticised the quality of mainland goods
In response to the question 'Will you boycott Carrefour on May 1?' posted on one of the most popular online bulletin boards in Guangdong, Mr Tao, who said he worked for an IT company, wrote: 'You are a traitor to China or a running dog [of the west] if you don't participate in the campaign.'
Although online protesters have targeted all things French, the campaign against Carrefour, the world's second-largest supermarket chain, has been the quickest to attract tens of thousands of supporters.
Mr Tao said one of his friends in Kunming , Yunnan province , told him some customers of the Carrefour branch there were beaten up by activists a few days ago.
He also claimed that he had heard that hundreds of people in Wuhan were infuriated when they saw a Chinese flag flying at half mast outside a Carrefour branch and many in the city had vowed to take to the streets today or tomorrow. He admitted he was aware Carrefour had explained the half-mast was the work of others, but he still believed such protests would be justified.
'We will definitely do something against the French supermarket this weekend,' Mr Tao said.