More foreign companies kowtow to China after Marriott International
By Lobsang Tenchoe
DHARAMSALA, Jan 15: More multinational companies operating in China have kowtowed to China and removed Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau from its list of countries from their mobile apps and websites after facing rebuttal from China.
Delta Air Lines, medical device-maker Medtronic and fashion brand Zara were reported to have listed the countries China claims to be its part as separate countries on internet platforms, according to a report on CNBC.
However, fearing strong rebuttal from the Chinese communist government, all the companies have reportedly issued apologies.
Marriott International, an American multinational hospitality company had its Chinese website suspended by the Chinese regulator after it listed Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as separate countries in its questionnaire survey for its elite members last week.
Marriott International later issued an apology on its Sina Weibo account, a Chinese micro-blogging platform and suspended the questionnaire survey.
The Chinese foreign ministry has demanded that foreign companies operating in China should respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Foreign companies operating in China should respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China’s laws and respect Chinese people’s national feelings,” the Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesman Lu Kang said, reports Chinese state run media Xinhua.
China claims Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as its territory. While China occupied Tibet in 1959, China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has never ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control. Hong Kong and Macau, both former colonies, have returned to Chinese rule.
