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www.wildlifejustice.org
THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS
as a case featuring two “Hainan Shell Factory” stores in Haikou City, Hainan, which were also registered with the online shopping platform Taobao. Among the 12 cases indicating online trade, WeChat was the most common platform used for purchasing or selling giant clam shell products.
Just over half of the reported seizures (26 cases) related to illegal retail trade of giant clam shells or shell crafts. The majority of these (21 cases) involved trade at a physical shop or market stall, while references to online trade were made in 12 cases. In some instances, physical shops were also selling products online, such
Recent reports in China have revealed that many e-commerce websites still sell giant clam shell products from Hainan Province, using code names such as “jade-like shell” and “Nanhai” (South Sea) to get around keyword blocks.42 Homonyms such as “五爪 贝” or “five claw shell”43 and “车渠”,44 the miswriting of
Image 17: Examples of clam shell products advertised for sale on JD.com, with various necklaces, bracelets, and prayer beads priced from RMB 153 to RMB 7,519 (USD 23 to USD 1,162).
http://china.qianlong.com/2020/0703/4368944.shtml http://www.chinanews.com/sh/2021/04-25/9463492.shtml 44 http://www.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2021-02/02/c_1127052042.htm 42 43