Nike stops sales of new shoes in China after designer supports Hong Kong protests

Sports giants Nike has canceled sales of its limited edition of sports shoes in China after a Japanese designer the company had cooperated with openly expressed support for the Hong Kong protests.

Nike decided to halt sales of its new line of sneakers created by Undercover, a brand of Japanese designer Jun Takahashi, who posted an Instagram photo showing Hong Kong protesters which was captioned "no extradition to China."

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The world-renowned sports brand teamed up with the Japanese streetwear company to release the exclusive sneaker line which was scheduled to appear on shelves at the end of June. However, the launch was abruptly axed after the controversial Instagram post received mounting backlash from Chinese users.

Despite the post being deleted, Nike decided to stop sales to avoid any controversy regarding political protests in Hong Kong.

Large-scale protests and demonstrations have engulfed the semi-autonomous territory after an extradition bill allowing suspects to be sent to mainland China was proposed by lawmakers.

Despite the Hong Kong government suspending the bill indefinitely, protests continue to spread throughout the region with hundreds of thousands of people demanding the bill to be scrapped.