John Cena Apologizes To China For Calling Taiwan A Country; Know The Political Conflict Behind

He released an apology on the Sina Weibo platform in conversational-level Mandarin.

John Cena (Image Source: AFP)

New Delhi: American wrestler and actor, John Cena on Tuesday, apologized for referring to Taiwan as a country after it sparked outrage in the world's largest movie market.

During a fan meet, in early May, Cena made the "country" comment when he was in Taiwan to promote Fast & Furious 9.  

John Cena apologized in Chinese on Sina Weibo after calling Taiwan a country during an interview promoting Fast & Furious 9 pic.twitter.com/dzRKIYgEzL

— Joe Xu (@JoeXu) May 24, 2021

He released an apology on the Sina Weibo platform in conversational-level Mandarin, said, “I made one mistake. I have to say something very, very, very important now. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry about my mistake. I apologise, I apologise, I’m very sorry."

Recent conflict between China and Taiwan

Taiwan is a self-governed island state separated from mainland China by the Taiwan Strait. Beijing opposes the suggestion Taiwan is an independent state and it has vowed to retake, by force if necessary. But Taiwan's leaders say it is clearly much more than a province, arguing that it is a sovereign state.

Since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, China and Taiwan have had separate governments. Beijing has long tried to limit Taiwan's international activities 

In the early 80s, China put forward a formula, known as "one country, two systems", under which Taiwan would be given significant autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification Taiwan rejected the offer, but it did relax rules on visits to and investment in China. In 1991, it also proclaimed the war with the People's Republic of China on the mainland to be over.

In 2016, Taiwan's current president Tsai Ing-wen was elected. She leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which leans towards eventual official independence from China she was re-elected in 2020. 

China pressure various international airlines to list Taiwan as a Chinese territory on its website. Recently, several major brands expressed concern over allegations that members of the mostly Muslim Uighur minority group are being used as forced labour. As backlash, Chian blocked thier shopping apps and blurred thier logos on Chinese state on TV.