Hong Kong pan-democrats plan fresh L’Oreal protest after cosmetics giant ‘refuses to apologise’ for cancelling Denise Ho concert
Five parties will gather outside Times Square mall in support of the Canto-pop singer and warn further action may follow
Five pan-democratic parties are planning to protest at L’Oreal’s Hong Kong office on Friday morning, as they say the cosmetics giant has “refused to apologise and come clean” on its decision to cancel a concert by Canto-pop star Denise Ho Wan-sze.
Lancome, a brand under L’Oreal, originally invited Ho to host a mini-concert in Sheung Wan’s hip Po Hing Fong enclave on June 19. Ho was vilified on the mainland for taking part in the pro-democracy Occupy protests in 2014, and the brand was accused by Beijing newspaper Global Times of inviting a “Hong Kong independence advocate”.
Lancome cancelled the event on June 5, citing “safety reasons”, after mainland internet users threatened to boycott the brand. The decision sparked an outcry from pan-democrat lawmakers and activists who slammed L’Oreal for kowtowing to Beijing.
Ho then organised her own concert in the same neighbourhood and on the same day as the one cancelled by Lancome, but League of Social Democrats chairman Avery Ng Ma-yuen told the Post on Thursday that the matter was not over.
“We want L’Oreal to know that many people around the world are upset about their decision,” Ng said. “We want L’Oreal to apologise, explain how the decision was made, and promise that there will be no more self-censorship ... If they refuse to come clean [on Friday], we will not rule out taking further action.”
Ng said the League, Labour Party, Democratic Party, Civic Party and NeoDemocrats would gather outside Times Square at 11am on Friday, before protesting at L’Oreal’s office on the 45th floor.
It is unclear if L’Oreal will close its office and stores on Friday. A spokeswoman said the group had nothing further to add to what it said on June 5.
Retired French philosophy teacher Beatrice Desgranges started a petition on change.org on June 6 to protest against L’Oreal’s decision.
Desgranges previously wrote on the website that the petition would be closed on Monday, and the list of signers and their comments would be sent to Lancome. But the petition resumed on Wednesday and it had been signed by about 86,000 by 6pm on Thursday.