Nike cancelled the sale of a line of limited-edition sports shoes in China after their Japanese designer expressed support for protests against a proposed bill that would enable extradition to the mainland, highlighting the political risks for western businesses operating in the country.
Chinese retailers halted sales of the trainers designed by Undercover, the studio of Japanese designer Jun Takahashi, after it posted a picture of protesters with the slogan “no extradition to China” on its Instagram account earlier this month.
The post provoked a backlash from Chinese Instagram users, who use VPN software to access the platform as it is blocked on the mainland. Undercover deleted the post, which it said was an “individual opinion” posted by mistake.