Encouraging calm to avoid the storm is the maxim applied by Amazon vis-à-vis the Chinese government.
The aim is not to harm the President of the PRC Xi Jinping and his book The governance of China (Volumes I, II and III).
It’s five stars or nothing
Xi Jinping may well be an author of political science literature in his spare time, the President of the People’s Republic of China does not seem to particularly appreciate criticism. Except the most complimentary. Indeed, Amazon officially announces interceding in favor of Beijing and withdrawing, for the Chinese edition of the book, any rating lower than five stars, that is to say the maximum. Result, to date, no note is referenced on the Chinese page of The governance of China
(Volume III).
On the other hand, this is not the case for the various pages presenting versions published by an English-speaking publisher, which notably collect 4.3 / 5 (63 opinions) for the edition of 1er October 2014 (Volume I) or 4.6 / 5 (55 opinions) for the edition of 1er June 2020 (Volume III). At issue, a request from the Chinese government in 2019 relating to certain negative reviews received by the book. According to internal documents verified by Reuters in 2018, the brakes encountered by Amazon in its expansion into the Middle Kingdom pushed the company to respond favorably to the requirements of the state.
Amazon would have written there in particular: ” Ideological control and propaganda are at the heart of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) strategy to achieve and maintain its success. […] We don’t judge if it’s right or wrong “. On the side of the evaluators, some are already not deprived, on the pages of the English-speaking editor of the three volumes, to criticize this choice of the firm of Jeff Bezos.
On the same subject :
€ 1.13 billion: Amazon receives record fine for abuse of dominant position in Italy
Sources: 20 minutes
, The Wrap
, Amazon
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