The Chinese government blocked the websites of US companies Marriott Hotels and Delta Airlines after noticing that they listed Tibet, Taiwan, Macau and HongKong as countries different from China on their corporate sites.
A spokesman for the Chinese interior Ministry, Mr Ku Kang, declared: “We welcome foreign enterprises to do business in China.”
“Meanwhile, they should respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by Chinese law, and respect the Chinese peoples’ feelings, which are the foundation for any corporation to do business in any country.”
Marriott, which admitted that China is currently its biggest market worldwide, was quick to apologize and said it would rectify the ‘mistake’ immediately: “Marriott International respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We don’t support separatist groups that subvert the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.”
“We sincerely apologise for any actions that may have suggested otherwise.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">China orders Marriott to shut down websites for a week <a href="https://t.co/2m10RKIauu">https://t.co/2m10RKIauu</a></p>— Nikkei Asian Review (@NAR) <a href="https://twitter.com/NAR/status/951456806819135488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Delta Airlines had at the time of writing not yet made an official statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New post (China demands Delta apology over nations list) has been published on GRTX - <a href="https://t.co/8hMBf5pG3B">https://t.co/8hMBf5pG3B</a> <a href="https://t.co/PynwP3H7qP">pic.twitter.com/PynwP3H7qP</a></p>— Grtx (@GrtxNl) <a href="https://twitter.com/GrtxNl/status/951831188414582784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Chinese authorities have in the meantime also blocked access to global fashion chain Zara (of Spanish origin) as they dared to mention a similar ‘error’ on their website.
Chinese authorities claim that Tibet, Taiwan, and HongKong all belong to China and any claim of their independence is a hotly debated topic in Beijing.
While China claims governance over Taiwan, the island has been governed separately since 1949 and maintains formal diplomatic relations with a handful of countries.
Tibet was brought under Chinese control when its army invaded the before independent country in 1950. China has always seen Tibet as a Chinese province and never acknowledged its independence.
The city-states of Hong Kong and Macau were returned to China in the 1990s after colonial rule. Both still retain a separate government and certain separate rules from mainland China.
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"We don’t support separatist groups that subvert the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.” Boy, talk about kissing ass for cash! Tibet & Taiwan hasn't been considered China by ANYONE except China…and Marriott!