Ignoring China’s sovereignty proves a risky business
Top firms face paying the price for treating places such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Tibet as countries on their customer websites
Confronted with their mistake, they apologised and corrected the oversight, although that may not be enough to protect market shares given the feelings of many Chinese. Respect for territorial integrity can never be taken lightly.
Marriott failed that requirement by referring in a customer survey to Taiwan, the Tibet autonomous region and the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions as countries. The hotel chain caused further anger when one of its staff “liked” a Twitter account supporting Tibetan independence. Delta Air Lines had Taiwan and Tibet listed among countries in a drop-down box on a website. The Spanish retailer Zara, which has 170 stores on the mainland, named Taiwan as a country in outlining its clothing recycling programme.
As a service to customers, some firms may differentiate between particular areas of China; some regions have differing visa requirements, for example. It makes sense to do what Delta is now doing, and use the term “countries and territories” above drop-down boxes. Sovereignty has become a sensitive issue for the nation, which is increasingly influential on the world stage. Any firm that ignores that is risking business, at its peril.