China’s Communist Party has long been ruthless in dealing with its domestic opponents. But today, the party’s war on opposing views — and the economic clout it wields — has even spilled over into the worlds of pop music and cosmetics, and made waves from Hong Kong to Seoul and Paris.

French cosmetic giant Lancôme found itself facing a public relations disaster when it abruptly canceled a pop concert it had sponsored featuring the Hong Kong pop singer Denise Ho.

The decision Sunday followed a social media post by China’s state-owned Global Times newspaper accusing Ho of supporting the independence of Tibet and Taiwan. The post stirred up nationalist Netizens on the Chinese mainland and seemed to give the French company a bad case of the jitters.

But the cancellation of the concert only made things worse. Lancôme, and its parent company L'Oréal, were accused by many Hong Kongers of kowtowing to the Communist Party and taking the path of self-censorship, presumably out of fears of consumer backlash in China.

The company was forced to close its stores in Hong Kong for a day on Wednesday, as hundreds of people turned out to protest. A petition is now circulating to boycott their products.

The episode is reminiscent of a January controversy when a 16-year Taiwanese singer, who performs in a South Korea K-pop band, Chou Tzu-yu, was forced to make a humiliating apology to China after being seen with a small Taiwanese flag on South Korean television.

Denise Ho was arrested at the 2014 Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and was among a group of Hong Kong artists subsequently blacklisted from mainland China, according to a leaked directive from the Ministry of Culture, according to the China Digital Times website.

Ho has never called for the independence of Hong Kong from China, but she does not shy from expressing her views, posting pictures of herself with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and calling him a "loving grandfather,” the BBC reported.

Lancôme canceled the sold-out June 19 event citing "possible safety reasons," also adding in a Facebook post that Ho was not their spokeswoman.

Ho responded by telling the BBC she was shocked and saddened that a global brand such as Lancôme would succumb to such pressure, adding that Hong Kong has been going through a tough two years since the Occupy Central pro-democracy protests.

“Most celebrities, we wouldn’t dare to speak up for ourselves, because we know self-censorship is really serious right now in Hong Kong,” she said.

Finally, for all those disappointed concertgoers, here is Denise Ho performing one of her hits.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36466680