John Cena has apologized to China for calling Taiwan a country during a recent media interview to promote Fast and the Furious 9. The island is self-governed but China has claimed the territory despite this for over 70 years.
China pushes back on international messaging that involves Taiwan being referred to as an independent country and John Cena is the latest to experience this. Cena did an interview with local media in Taiwan and mentioned that it will be the first country to see the film.
“Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9,” Cena told the broadcaster in Mandarin.
Today, Cena took to China’s Weibo social media platform and delivered a message in Mandarin. He did not refer to Taiwan by name but spoke about having done a lot of interviews and having “made a mistake.”
“I’m sorry for my mistake,” Cena said. “I must say now, [it’s] very, very, very, very important [that] I love, and respect even more, China and the Chinese people.”
Several airlines recently changed how they refer to Taiwan as a flight destination/route. This was in response to complaints by the Chinese government as well.
“Like other carriers, American (Airlines) is implementing changes to address China’s request. Air travel is global business, and we abide by the rules in countries where we operate,” American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson told CNN.
The Response To John Cena’s Apology
CNN translated several comments from viewers on the Weibo platform responding to Cena’s comments.
“Please say ‘Taiwan is part of China’ in Chinese, otherwise we will not accept,” one person wrote.
“I don’t understand why the Chinese people should be so tolerant to him, who has a vague political stance while profiting from Chinese people,” another wrote.
