Hong Kong (AFP)

Since 1990, the Hong Kong brand Chickeeduck has been producing cushions, t-shirts and a whole bunch of objects with caricatures of ducks, but since Beijing took over the territory, business has grown for its manager.

Herbert Chow must now find a country in which to manufacture his products after the recent seizure in China of 10,000 items accused of "inciting violence".

"My manufacturer told me that customs considered these products to advocate violence during social movements," Chow, 57, told AFP after deciding to publicize his troubles.

At first glance, there is nothing subversive about its products, which include yellow birds holding umbrellas topped with an "I love HK" or a chicken carrying a flag.

But for those familiar with the political events that rocked Hong Kong in 2019, these cartoons are an obvious nod to the pro-democracy movement as Beijing launched a massive crackdown on dissent.

Mr. Chow does not deny wanting to send messages.

Thus, the five swimming ducklings depicted on a bag are a clear allusion to the protesters' slogan "Five demands, not one less".

However, he said he was baffled by the fact that such drawings could be considered illegal.

"I don't see what's wrong with this message," he said.

"I don't see why the Chinese authorities have an interest in trying to prevent something like this from going to Hong Kong."

- Capture -

The challenges Mr. Chow is facing is a testament to how the situation has changed in semi-autonomous Hong Kong since the massive pro-democracy movement of 2019.

Now, certain words and opinions can get people and businesses in serious trouble.

As Mr. Chow was meeting with AFP, the Hong Kong customs service was holding a press briefing to announce the seizure of nearly 9,000 products from the Abouthai supermarket chain.

According to the authorities, these items, mostly imported from Thailand, did not have Chinese labeling as required.

Abouthai was created by Mike Lam, a pro-democracy businessman who is among dozens of people accused of breaking the national security law imposed by Beijing last year.

After this seizure, long lines formed in front of Abouthai stores, Hong Kongers intending to show their support.

The customs service denied that the measure taken against Abouthai was political and rejected "any false accusations" aimed at claiming that it was a "repressive" measure.

- "Ridiculous" -

Mr. Chow, born into a mainland Chinese family who emigrated to Hong Kong, considers himself a "Hong Kong Chinese" and says he is a moderate pro-democracy activist.

His car bears the license plate "LV1997" (Love 1997) which refers to the year the territory was returned to China by Great Britain.

Initially, Mr Chow was not politically involved, but the 2019 protests changed everything.

After expressing his sympathy for the movement, he was accused of being a "traitor" by a powerful ultra-nationalist on the Chinese social network Weibo.

From there, things grew in a crescendo.

"This is the first time that I have asked myself what this country is," he recalls.

Rather than backpedaling - like many companies - he redoubled his efforts.

Last year he made headlines for refusing to remove a statue of protesters from one of his stores and the mall responded by refusing to renew his contract.

Since then, he has struggled to find manufacturers in Southeast Asia, his partner in mainland China having warned him that any new orders must now be checked by the authorities.

Mr. Chow does not intend to back down because in his eyes there is nothing illegal about his designs and he wants to continue offering them in the four remaining stores.

"We don't want the people of Hong Kong to get used to such ridiculous things."

© 2021 AFP