Actor John Cena inadvertently inserted himself into one of China’s most sensitive geopolitical controversies and had to apologize to the autocratic country to appease communist censors who might have targeted his new film in retaliation.
While promoting the latest installment of the popular “Fast & Furious” franchise, Cena told a Taiwanese broadcaster, “Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9.”
Problem is – China, one of the world’s most lucrative movie markets, does not consider Taiwan a country. Nor will it abide dissenting points of view. CNN explains:
Taiwan is a self-governed democratic island, but China claims it as its sovereign territory despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war over 70 years ago. Beijing considers any suggestion of Taiwan’s independence crossing its “red line,” and has been increasingly trying to use its economic power to police speech on the topic around the world.
Cena quickly atoned for his mistake. The wrestler-turned-actor posted a short video on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, saying in Mandarin, “I made a mistake. I must say now that, very very very importantly, I love and respect China and Chinese people.”
But many Chinese social media users found the apology lacking since Cena did not explicitly say Taiwan is part of China.
Cena also encountered critics stateside. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) described the move as “pathetic.”
Western companies have long struggled to navigate a political landscape in China that is filled with landmines. The country frequently censors and condemns content that is out of synch with its rigid prerogatives. In 2019, an N.B.A. executive expressed support for a pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. Officials in China were incensed, and the league – including its biggest star, LeBron James – had to walk back the comments.
The political problems arise in cases where a company appeared to have no idea it was accidentally crossing a line.
That list would include Gap, which in 2018 created a T-shirt that omitted Taiwan, parts of Tibet and islands in the South China Sea from a map of China on the shirt’s design. The luxury brands Versace, Givenchy and Coach said in 2019 they all made mistakes when they produced T-shirts that identified Hong Kong and Macau as countries.
With nearly 1.4 billion citizens, China is one of the world’s biggest consumer markets. But human rights abuses in the country sometimes gives western companies pause. In Xinjiang, more than a million ethnic muslims have been detained and the state has been accused of forced labor, sterilization and rape.