China urges foreign companies to respect Chinese territorial integrity

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Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Tibet are all parts of China, and these are the objective facts, as well as the consensus of the international community, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang emphasized on Friday, while answering questions about Marriott listing the regions as countries in the company’s email survey.

China welcomes investment from foreign enterprises in China and said that companies operating in China should also respect Chinese territorial integrity, abide by China's laws and respect Chinese people’s national feelings. This is also the basis for any enterprise that comes to other countries for investment and cooperation, Lu added.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang. / MOFA Photo

In an email survey sent to Marriott members, the global hotel chain listed Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as answers to the question “Which country do you live in?”, which ignited widespread outrage among Chinese netizens.

Shanghai’s Huangpu District market supervision bureau has launched an investigation into Marriott for violating the country’s cybersecurity law and advertisement law.

The National Tourism Administration of China issued an official statement Thursday, urging the Shanghai Tourism Bureau to conduct an investigation as soon as possible. It also asked all local tourism bureaus to check the hotels’ online websites and applications, in order to prevent such an incident from happening again.

Screenshot of a statement issued by the National Tourism Administration‍ / CGTN Photo

Marriott International Inc. CEO Arne Sorenson apologized on Thursday for listing Tibet as a country in the company’s email survey, one day after the company co-operated with Shanghai authorities to shut down the company’s Chinese website and app.

In a statement posted by Marriott’s Weibo account “Marriott Rewards,” which is responsible for managing the membership of Marriott International, Sorenson said Marriott has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China and is deeply sorry for its mistakes.

The apology letter from Arne Sorenson, chief executive officer of Marriott International Inc., posted on "Marriott Rewards" Weibo account / Weibo photo

Marriott issued multiple apologies via its Weibo account “Marriott Rewards” from Tuesday to Thursday, stressing the company has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.

However, Weibo user “nowshine” pointed out that its official Twitter account liked a tweet supporting “Tibet Independence."

Arne Sorenson, chief executive officer of Marriott International Inc., posing for a photograph on September 16, 2013 / VCG photo

Marriott CEO Sorenson said on Thursday that the company’s official Twitter account mistakenly liked the inappropriate tweet because of an individual employee’s action. He said the company had withdrawn the like and had issued an apology on Twitter.

Sorenson said Marriott is cooperating with the government investigation and will keep the public informed about the findings.