Delta and Marriott seem to be getting into trouble with China recently. First, Marriott’s website and app have been blocked by China for a week as punishment towards professing the thought that Tibet is a separate country. And then, yesterday, the news surfaced that Delta has been asked to apologise by China for listing Tibet and Taiwan as an independent country on their website. Delta China hasn’t reacted yet!
Marriott shut down by China
Marriott apparently sent out a questionnaire earlier in the month, in Mandarin, where they listed Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as separate countries. China views this as a disrespect to Chinese sovereignty.
The American company has apologised thrice over already to the Chinese authorities. However, their troubles don’t seem to be ending. There are various reports online which report that Chinese customers are cancelling their bookings with the hotel chain on the back of this incident.
Here is Marriott’s Apology, as posted on Twitter. A similar apology went out on Weibo as well.
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.
— Marriott Rewards (@MarriottRewards) January 11, 2018
However, the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration said in a statement that it was shutting the Marriott’s mobile phone app, in a move that would also disrupt bookings.
The Shanghai government has asked Marriott to take down all relevant content, conduct a thorough check on all contents it posted on its website and online application to prevent anything similar, and address the public’s concern in a timely fashion to eliminate a negative impact. But it does not stop there since Shanghai authorities will also launch an investigation into Marriott.
Delta China feels the punch too
But that is not where it stopped. Last night, Delta got on the same treatment from the Chinese. Delta had apparently listed Taiwan and Tibet as separate countries, and the Chinese aviation regulator CAAC has asked Delta to issue an immediate and public apology for putting out these two countries as independent nations. However, Delta hasn’t given them that apology, yet!
AJ,
Marriott apparently sent out a questionnaire earlier in the month, in Mandarin, where they listed Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as separate countries.
Marriott is wrong, of course. Apart from North Arunachal (aka Tibet), HK, Macau and Taiwan, East Turkestan (aka Xinjiang Uyghur), Gansu and Qinghai (Inner North Arunachal), Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang (aka Manchuria) need to be listed as separate countries.
Regards