HK star's brand apologizes for listing Taiwan, HK as countries

Hong Kong actor Shawn Yue (余文乐) has become the latest person forced to issue an apology for disrespecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.

Recently, the website of Yue’s personal clothing brand Madness was exposed on Chinese social media for stating that its clothing could to be shipped internationally to most “countries” with Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau listed among the examples, igniting yet more online outrage.

Just before midnight on Thursday, Yue responded to the growing wave of hurt feelings by posting an apology on his Weibo account.

“As the owner of Madness, I take responsiblity for failing to oversee my company well,” he wrote. “I am extremely sorry for such a big error and misunderstanding. We will conduct a comprehensive review and not allow such mistakes to happen again in the future.”

However, most Weibo users aren’t satisfied with Yue’s apology, calling it too “cool” and “insufficient,” comparing Yue with Edison Chen, a Hong Kong actor-singer who was involved in an infamous sex photo scandal that consumed the Chinese internet back in 2008.

Some noted that while Yue may have apologized, he had failed to state his own position on pro-independence movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Starting out as a model before going on to star in hits like Infernal Affairs II, Yue has generally shied away from politics in public.

“You should state clearly that both Hong Kong and Taiwan are part of China. Otherwise, your apology means nothing,” commented one Weibo user.

Meanwhile, Yue’s company has fixed its “big error,” by substituting the word “area” for countries, changing “China” to “Mainland China,” “Hong Kong” to “Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” and “Macau” to “ Macau Special Administrative Region.”

Beginning with Marriott, a number of international companies were exposed last month for listing Taiwan, Tibet, or Hong Kong as separate “countries” on their websites.

For having “seriously violated” Chinese regulations and “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” Marriott was ordered to shut down its Chinese website and app for one week. The hotel brand soon issued an official apology:

“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 apologize for any actions that may have suggested otherwise.”

Afterward, Craig S. Smith, president and managing director of Marriott’s Asia-Pacific office, called the incident probably one of the biggest mistakes of his career.

Meanwhile, this week, Mercedes-Benz and its parent company Daimler have both issued grovelling apologies after posting a car advertisement on Instagram featuring a quote from a certain Tibetan religious leader which said: “Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.”

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