Hollywood Elites and US Businesses Continue to Apologize to China | Washington Examiner

Wrestling superstar John Cena apologized to the People’s Republic of China and its roughly 1.5 billion people last week, adding his name to a long list of celebrities and businesses begging for forgiveness from the Communist government, probably for fear of financial repercussions.

“I made a mistake,” Cena told china after mentioning Taiwan as an independent country while promoting its latest film, a claim that China has long contested. “Now I have to say one thing, which is very, very, very important: I love and respect China and the Chinese people.”

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In recent years, dozens of companies have challenged China’s sovereignty, resulting in the issuance of an apology and the removal of products from the shelves.

The luxury fashion brand Versace apologized to China in 2019 after the company produced shirts that suggested Hong Kong and Macau were autonomous regions, which China disputes.

“I never wanted to disrespect China’s national sovereignty, and that’s why I wanted to personally apologize for such inaccuracy and for any distress it may have caused,” posted Donatella Versace, Director of the creation of the company, on Instagram at the time.

Coach and Givenchy, also luxury brands, drew criticism from China around the same time for printing T-shirts recognizing Macau and Hong Kong as separate entities from China. The two companies apologized for the shirts after millions of angry Chinese social media users called for a boycott.

Chinese buyers are responsible for at least a third of the sales of luxury brands worldwide and account for two thirds of the growth of the luxury industry, according to the management consulting firm Bain & Company.

Several other luxury and fashion brands have apologized to China for recognizing Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan as independent, including Swarovski, Dior, Calvin klein, Tiffany and Co., and Zara.

Luxury car company Mercedes Benz also found itself on the wrong side of China following a post on the company’s Instagram page that cited the Dalai Lama, whom China considers a separatist and a traitor.

Mercedes deleted and apologized for the message, “We will take swift action to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, including our international staff, to help normalize our actions so that this kind of problem does not happen again.”

In 2017, Mercedes’ European competitor, Audi apologized to China after the “big mistake” of using an “inaccurate” map of the country that did not include Taiwan or Tibet.

The hospitality industry has not been immune to China’s backlash, as evidenced by the Marriott hotel chain’s 2017 apology for offend the communist regime in a customer survey. In addition, next year, Marriott dismissed an employee for having “liked” a publication on the social networks of a pro-Tibetan independence organization.

Those who follow the airline industry have undoubtedly noticed several instances of companies bowing down to the Chinese government in recent years.

“It was an inadvertent mistake with no commercial or political intent, and we deeply apologize for the mistake. As one of our most important markets, we are fully committed to China and our Chinese customers,” he said. declared Delta Airlines said in a 2018 statement after listing Tibet and Taiwan as separate countries on its website.

After being warned by the Chinese government, Australian airlines Qantas changed their website and apologized in 2018 after listing Taiwan and Hong Kong as countries.

Even McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest corporations with nearly 40,000 locations worldwide, was forced to bend knee to china in 2019 after running an ad suggesting Taiwan was an independent country.

The sports world recently saw one of its most important world stars return to China when Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James accused an NBA executive of being “misinformed” after expressing support for Hong Kong independence.

Hollywood, as Cena recently illustrated, has consistently nodded to China, which has developed a increasingly strong hold on the American film industry.

Film studios regularly censor their films in an attempt to appease the Chinese government, including the recent sequel to Top Gun this omitted a Taiwanese flag on Tom Cruise’s jacket.

“This is just one more example of how the Chinese lobby in American society continues to try to lobby for the interests of China against the interests of America,” said Senator Tom Cotton. said about Cena’s apology and China’s global influence on films. “You know, Hollywood is deep in China’s pocket. When was the last time you saw a Chinese villain in a movie, unlike, say, the Soviets? It’s because Hollywood wants to access the Chinese market. and Chinese money. “

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“It’s very disappointing,” added the Arkansas Republican.

Original location: Hollywood elites and US businesses continue to apologize to China