China loses its mind over Uniqlo sex tape

A VIDEO of a couple having sex in a Uniqlo changing room has turned the store into a bizarre tourist attraction. The Chinese government is furious.

Chinese women take a selfie outside the Uniqlo flagship store where a steamy video purportedly taken inside one of its fitting room showing a couple apparently having sex in Beijing.

Sex may sell, but a steamy video purportedly taken inside a Uniqlo fitting room in Beijing is giving the clothing retailer some uncomfortable attention, turning the flagship store into a minor tourist attraction.

Online searches for the Japanese clothing brand soared this week after the viral spread of the video apparently showing a man in a black shirt and a fully naked woman having sex in the Chinese capital’s flagship store. It has become so popular, young Chinese have been making “pilgrimages” to the outlet. The clip rapidly went viral on China’s Twitter-like Weibo and mobile messaging service WeChat, with scores of people going to take selfies outside the outlet, and some even mimicking the poses seen in the footage. But the video also has drawn the concern of police and China’s highest web regulator who are investigating whether it was a vulgar marketing gimmick. The 71-second video shows a man filming himself with a woman in front of a mirror. A Uniqlo store announcement can be heard clearly in the background welcoming customers and advising them that fitting rooms are on the second and third floors while cashiers are on the first. Uniqlo has denied any involvement in the video. It also has urged shoppers to make proper use of its fitting rooms, which already have become a euphemism for make-out spots among China’s web users, who are urging other clothing retailers to enlarge their fitting rooms to attract new clientele. The online carnival is abating, however, now that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has chastised two of the country’s main internet companies for allowing the video to go viral. It had been circulating mainly on Sina Corp.’s microblogging site and Tencent Holding Ltd.’s popular mobile message app. The agency summoned senior management of the two companies for face-to-face reprimands Wednesday, and by Thursday the video was difficult to find. Beijing police also announced that it would investigate. Chinese law bans the manufacture of obscene material while cyber-rules ban its spread online. “The viral circulation of the obscene fitting room video on the internet ... has severely violated socialist core values,” the CAC said in a statement. The CAC also suggested that the incident could have been a publicity stunt. “Highly concerned Web users have reprimanded the acts that are suspected vulgar marketing or event marketing ... and have called for severe punishment,” the official said. Sina and Tencent must “further improve their social responsibility awareness”, the official added. China’s Communist Party oversees a vast censorship system — dubbed the Great Firewall — that aggressively blocks sites or snuffs out content and commentary that is pornographic, violent or deemed politically sensitive. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are inaccessible in the country, as is YouTube. Uniqlo “firmly” denied the video was a marketing ploy in a statement posted on its website and verified Weibo account. “As a responsible international brand, Uniqlo ... would like to ask consumers to abide by social ethics, maintain social justice and correctly and properly use the fitting spaces provided by Uniqlo stores,” it said.