The Ministry of Industry and Trade has ordered online shopping sites to remove all the maps and toys with images of China’s nine-dash line on the East Sea.
Do Minh, a local in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, said she ordered a toy for her child from Shopee. The toy is a world map and the children can put national flags on different countries. Minh said the toy cost VND189,000 (USD7.56) but she soon noticed a problem. The toy only has English and Chinese instructions as it was made in China. Moreover, on the map there is a nine-dash line that includes the Spratly and Paracel Islands.
The product is sold by a seller with a registered business licence in Bac Kan Province and has their own website, dochoigiaoducsom.com.
Lai Viet Anh, deputy head of the E-commerce and Information Technology Agency said they had received the information. It is impossible to see the content of the product online. Consumers will only notice the nine-dash line upon purchasing the toy. The agency has ordered Shopee as well as other shopping sites to check, remove products with similar violations and report back by August 15.
“We’ve asked them to remove the product first and will work with the market management agencies to check the supply and deal with this problem,” Anh said.
Hanoi Market Management Board and the E-commerce and Information Technology Agency seized and inspected 30 boxes and two bags of toys. Bac Kan Department of Industry and Trade was ordered to check the products on dochoigiaoducsom.com. This website has its business licence registered in Bac Kan but actually operates in Hanoi. The E-commerce and Information Technology Agency has taken down this website.
Shopee said they would take responsibility and had carried out an inspection in the system to take down the toy as well as similar products. They also issued a recall order and compensate 17 customers who bought the product. All sellers on Shopee were warned that products or their accounts will be taken down if committing a similar violation.
Shopee is an e-commerce platform headquartered in Singapore under Sea Group, or Garena. Tran Tuan Anh, CEO of Shopee in Vietnam, said since Shopee was a consumer to consumer platform, the sellers must take responsibility for their products.
“We’ve actively worked with related agencies and customers to deal with this case,” Anh said.
Source: Dtinews