In a harbinger of what's to come as the US-China trade war gets worse by the day, a Chinese company has told all of its employees to boycott American products and halt international travels to the U.S., reported The Epoch Times.
Jinggang Motor Vehicle Inspection Station notified all employees last Thursday, May 16 that the use of iPhones, driving in American automobiles, eating at American fast food restaurants, using American household products, and even traveling to the U.S. was forbidden by a new company policy; any employee who violated the new rules would be fired. Here are some excerpts from the notice:
"Employees are prohibited from purchasing or using iPhones; instead, they are recommended to use Chinese domestic brands of cell phones, such as Huawei.
"Employees are not allowed to purchase vehicles made by China-U.S. joint venture automakers. They are recommended to purchase 100 percent Chinese-made vehicles.
"Employees are forbidden to eat at McDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken. They are not allowed to purchase P&G [Proctor and Gamble, a U.S. maker of household products], Amway [U.S. maker of health and beauty products], or any other American brands. Employees must not go to the United States as a tourist."
The company's memo was emailed to employees several days after state-run newspaper Global Times published an editorial piece that called on the Chinese public to "fight a people's war" against the U.S.
As a result of a prolonged trade war with the U.S., the company said: "To help our country win this war, company authorities have decided that all employees must immediately stop purchasing and using American products."
The Times said the notice went viral on Chinese social media platforms: "Computers should be banned as well, because it is a U.S. invention," one Chinese internet user said. Another said: "Stop using the Windows operating system, everyone."
However, some Chinese internet users thought it was ridiculous to ban American products.
Earlier this week, people across China called for an immediate boycott of Apple products after the Trump administration targeted Huawei. Trump signed an executive order last week that prevented U.S. firms from buying Chinese telecommunication equipment. Then in a separate announcement, the administration banned Huawei from buying U.S. chips without government approval.
On Weibo, users reacted to the deepening trade war and pressure on Huawei by denouncing iPhones. "The functions in Huawei are comparable to Apple iPhones or even better. We have such a good smartphone alternative; why are we still using Apple?" wrote one user.
"I feel guilty watching the trade war. Once I have money I will change my smartphone," said another user.
"I think Huawei's branding is amazing, it chops an apple into eight pieces," said another post.
Some Weibo users called for a boycott of U.S. chips. "Trump doesn't allow companies to...