The Department of Market Management and Domestic Trade Development has ordered stricter inspections and penalties for any violations following reports that Baby Three dolls may feature imagery resembling the controversial “nine-dash line.”

In an official directive, the Department of Market Management and Domestic Trade Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade instructed provincial and municipal market management offices to intensify scrutiny of toys and other products containing images or content related to Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty.

Recent reports indicate that some Baby Three dolls, a popular Chinese toy, allegedly display images resembling the “nine-dash line” and have been sold both in traditional stores and through e-commerce platforms like Shopee, TikTok Shop, and Facebook Marketplace.

Authorities call for action

In response, the department has urged local market management units to collaborate with e-commerce platforms to monitor product listings, conduct inspections, and strictly handle any violations found in accordance with the law.

Previously, Vietnamese streamer ViruSs (Dang Tien Hoang) announced on his personal page that he had stopped selling Baby Three products after noticing controversial details in the design of the toy’s teardrop and eye patterns.

Many consumers observed similarities between the illustrations on the dolls and the disputed "nine-dash line" and called for a boycott. Some retailers reacted by quickly selling off their inventory of the Baby Three "Town Rabbit V2" version.

A booming toy market under scrutiny

Baby Three is a plush toy brand from China that debuted in May 2024 as a blind box collectible. Each toy is uniquely designed, inspired by animals such as cats, rabbits, bears, and foxes. In recent months, blind box toys have flooded the Vietnamese market, appearing everywhere from street vendors to online marketplaces.

Baby Three toys range in price from approximately $4 to $24 for smaller boxes and can reach several million dong for larger editions.

According to data from Metric, Baby Three toys generated an estimated $1.6 million in revenue on Vietnamese e-commerce platforms in 2024, despite only entering the market in September of that year.

Hanh Nguyen