Fast & Furious 9 star John Cena made a U-turn yesterday, apologizing to Chinese fans after he called Taiwan a “country” and sparked outrage in the world’s largest movie market.
Beijing sees democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and rages at any diplomatic attempts to recognize it as an independent nation.
The US wrestling star turned actor Cena made the “country” comment during a trip to Taiwan early this month to promote the franchise of action movies about fast cars.
Photo: AP
As outrage billowed across China’s social media, Cena released an apology on Sina Weibo in conversational-level Mandarin.
‘RESPECT CHINA’
“I did many, many interviews for Fast & Furious 9, and I made a mistake during one interview,” Cena said in the video, without repeating the controversial term.
“I must say, which is very, very important, that I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry for my mistake. I apologize,” he said.
The video was played 2.4 million times on the strictly controlled social media site, while Chinese media leapt on the apology.
Fast & Furious 9 smashed through the box office during its release in China last weekend, raking in US$148 million, according to the nationalist Global Times newspaper.
NOT ENOUGH
However, social media users appeared only partially appeased.
“Please say ‘Taiwan is part of China’ in Chinese, or we won’t accept it,” one user wrote, while another lamented Cena’s apparent lack of knowledge that “Taiwan is an integral part of China.”
China’s vast consumer market has in recent years been weaponized against critics of Beijing.
Entities including the NBA and global fashion giants have faced boycotts and a battering on social media for speaking out on rights abuses or political issues China deems off-limits.
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