Mars Wrigley is trying to get out of privately mined diplomatic territory as quickly as possible. The US confectionery giant has apologized and emphasized “respect for Chinese sovereignty” after displaying an advertisement for Snickers bars. Taiwan as a country. The Back bone It is believed that the island of 23 million people, even if ruled by a rival Chinese regime, should be reunited with the rest of the national territory. It opposes any international recognition of Taipei.
The promotional video for an event featuring Snickers and the South Korean music group BTS End with “Available only in the following countries,” with the flags of South Korea, Malaysia, and the Republic of China (Taiwan). This video, which was not intended for the mainland Chinese market, was spotted by Chinese netizens, which sparked controversy on social networks.
According to Snickers, “there is only one China in the world”
“We have taken note of press reports regarding the Snickers event taking place in parts of Asia,” Mars Wrigley said Friday evening in a statement posted on China’s official Weibo social media account. “We take this matter very seriously and offer our sincerest apologies,” the group said. Then Snickers China posted an additional message on its Weibo account: “There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.”
Mars Wrigley is far from the first foreign company to apologize in China after diplomatic mistakes for fear of losing access to the huge domestic market. In 2019, Dior, which is owned by the French giant and the world’s number one luxury brand LVMH, apologized after using a map of China that omitted Taiwan during a presentation at a Chinese university.
The year before, the website of US hotel giant Marriott was blocked for a week in China. Reason: The group presented in an online survey the Chinese regions of Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as Taiwan, as several distinct countries.
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