My Take | Why the ‘yellow economic circle’ is immoral
- Its targets are often chosen arbitrarily, and many small businesses end up paying the price
One of the more novel resistance methods that local protesters have come up with is the creation of a “yellow economic circle”. Businesses that are in it receive support and patronage while those outside, that is, considered “blue” or unsupportive of the protest movement, is boycotted or worse. Apps can be downloaded to tell you “blue” and “yellow” eateries to visit or avoid near where you are.
Professional economists and pundits have commented on why the idea makes no economic sense and therefore is bound to fail. But to me, it should not be about whether it’s workable, but that it is morally reprehensible and must be condemned. In many cases, the practice amounts to discrimination and intimidation, often of the criminal and violent kind.
In theory, there ought to be no problem as to which businesses a person visits on the basis of his or her political or religious beliefs. If you are anti-communist, you may not want to give your business to any state-owned companies, such as the big Chinese banks. So far, so good.
But it’s often not clear-cut whether a business is Chinese or not. Most corporations in Hong Kong have extensive business exposure on the mainland. Do you target all of them, or only some of them? How do you decide?
Outlets such as those operated by Best Mart 360, Maxim’s and its franchised Starbucks have been vandalised hundreds of times. But it’s not clear whether Maxim’s and Starbucks are actually “blue”, since both operate at arm’s length from Annie Wu Suk-ching, the daughter of Maxim’s founder. Wu is a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and has spoken out against protest violence.
Often, it’s small businesses and eateries that are at the receiving end of the protesters’ campaigns, which range from boycotts to repeat vandalism. One shop was reportedly targeted for “decoration”, a euphemism for vandalism, because one of its staff was photographed handing a bottle of water to a policeman.
As a result, small businesses that were not known to be politically active suddenly declared their support for anti-government protesters. Others claim they oppose the government and beg to be left alone.
While big businesses can probably withstand the vandalism and loss of trade, small shops operate on slim margins and can easily go under, as most pay high rents. What the “yellow economic circle” ends up doing is targeting the innocent little guy.