Buy local smartphone policy creates online buzz
Print Edition
A NUMBER of companies are encouraging staff and customers to purchase Chinese made smartphones, including Huawei and ZTE, by offering subsidies in a supposedly patriotic drive.
Employees of the companies are apparently being told they will receive subsidies if they buy Huawei鈥檚 new smartphones.
According to local news portal Shanghai Observer run by Jiefang Daily, which quoted internal notices, some organizations have pressured staff to stop buying Apple iPhones by threatening to withhold bonuses or freezing promotions.
Though widely spread online, the boycott Apple notices have not been confirmed officially by any organizations, according to a Shanghai Daily investigation.
More than 20 Chinese companies have been found on social media announcing their intention to show their 鈥渞espect and support for Huawei.鈥
Shanghai Youluoke Electronics is fully subsidizing up to two Huawei devices per employee, while display equipment maker Shenzhen Yidaheng will cover 18 percent of the price of Huawei or ZTE models.
A firm from Zhejiang Province threatened staffers that if they bought iPhones it would withhold bonuses and freeze promotions.
Some tourists attractions around China offered similar incentives to show their support for Huawei. Shennong Mountain in central China鈥檚 Henan Province and Baiyun Cave in Hebei Province offered free entry for anyone using a Huawei mobile phone, while Gulong Canyon in Guangdong Province offered 50 percent off on its 138 yuan (US$20) entry fee.
The move has been seen as a reaction to the obstacles Huawei faces internationally in its expansion into 5G technology as Western countries ban Chinese telecommunications equipment providers from their high-speed 5G rollout.
While these incentives met with both supporters and ridicule on the Internet, some opinion leaders expressed their suspicion about the motivation.
The Beijing News said in an editorial that 鈥渢hese companies are pretending to be patriotic and such acts are clearly a gimmick.鈥
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, added: 鈥淢ost smartphones, including Huawei models and iPhones, are made in China, they should have equal market positions locally.鈥
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