Apple Shuts Hong Kong Stores Early as Fears of Lawlessness Rise -- 2nd Update
July 22 2019 - 8:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Chuin-Wei Yap
HONG KONG--Tech giant Apple Inc. shut its stores early citywide
on Monday, as fears of escalating violence and spiraling
lawlessness linked to weekslong protests spurred concern among
businesses and the public.
A day after police fired tear gas in clashes with thousands of
protesters, Hong Kong remains on edge as officials conceded no
ground and activists accused the government of coddling a rise in
vigilante justice. In the north of the city, a mob of white-shirted
men stormed a subway station late Sunday and beat people whom they
blamed for taking part in the earlier antigovernment protests,
leaving 45 people injured.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam condemned the violence
Monday as she was questioned by reporters about a breakdown in law
and order following weeks of antigovernment protests.
"Hong Kong is an extremely safe city and having the rule of law
has always been the most important part of society," Mrs. Lam
said.
But fears of new clashes in the city's northern districts spread
on social media, leading some businesses to close early and fueling
concern over the impact of the social turmoil on the economy.
Apple joined a raft of other businesses that chose to shut or
send staff home early on Monday. The company opened its first store
in Hong Kong in 2011 and is a high-profile anchor for the city's
image as an international commercial hub, gracing the Victoria
Harbour waterfront in a giant mall where most tourists transit. A
spokeswoman for the Cupertino, Calif.-company directed queries to
information on store hours on its website.
Five of the semiautonomous region's six Apple stores shut at 4
p.m., five to six hours ahead of normal closing hours. The
remaining store was shut all day. Apple's website referred to
Monday's arrangement as "special store hours."
At a branch of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s Hollister--next to
an Apple store in the shopping belt of Causeway Bay--a Hollister
employee said some staff were allowed to leave early to get home to
Yuen Long, a suburb close to the border with mainland China where
the attack at the subway station happened Sunday night.
Estée Lauder Co. at 2:40 p.m. Monday sent a notice to Hong Kong
employees, asking those who live in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun, another
suburb, to "leave the office as soon as possible," according to an
internal email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Estée Lauder
didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"We continue to monitor the situation in Hong Kong," the email
said, advising staff to avoid certain malls in these suburbs.
The unrest rattled Hong Kong's stock market Monday, sending the
Hang Seng Index 1.4% lower for the day as traders fretted over
rumors of another round of government action to combat protesters.
Shares of mall developers led the decline.
At least one luxury-goods retailer, Financiere Richemont SA,
said last week that the protests and a stronger Hong Kong dollar
hurt its sales in the city, in comparison with strong sales in
mainland China.
The antigovernment protests erupted in early June against
attempts by Mrs. Lam to force through a law that would allow
extradition to mainland China, where the legal system is much more
opaque. Protesters' demands now include a litany of democratic
freedoms, and increasingly violent clashes have spurred an ever
harsher police--and apparent vigilante--response.
Businesses across malls in Yuen Long mostly shut early on
Monday. Some protesters worried that an escalation of violence in
Yuen Long could involve local gangs. Images of a pro-Beijing
lawmaker shaking hands with some white-shirted vigilantes have
circulated widely on social media and television broadcasts since
Sunday.
A trade union for flight attendants working at Hong Kong's main
carrier, Cathay Pacific Airways, took note of the violence in Yuen
Long in a statement posted on its Facebook page, and condemned the
government for failing to ensure safety for citizens.
"It is clear that the situation will remain unstable for the
next few days," the statement said.
Officials blamed Sunday's violence on "radical groups," singling
out protesters' defacing of China's national emblem on one of the
mainland government's offices on the island. Mrs. Lam said this
challenged the city's self-governing privileges given by Beijing,
which had warned weeks earlier that an escalation of violence could
force the central government to intervene--actions that would
almost certainly deal a further setback to business confidence.
This isn't the first time that major stores have shut early in
the protests that have rocked Hong Kong these past two months.
Dozens of retailers in and around downtown, including the massive
IFC Mall that greets most tourists upon arriving on Hong Kong
island, sent staff home early or completely shut in mid-June during
an incident in which protesters blocked roads and clashed with
police.
Eli Binder and Natasha Khan contributed to this article.
Write to Chuin-Wei Yap at chuin-wei.yap@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 22, 2019 08:36 ET (12:36 GMT)
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