The row with the hotel chain started on Tuesday when a Chinese-language questionnaire it emailed to its customers referred to Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as independent countries. News of the error travelled rapidly online and triggered a backlash from Chinese internet users, who called for a boycott of the company.
Marriott’s troubles deepened after social media users spotted that the Twitter account for its loyalty programme had “liked” and shared the Friends of Tibet post after the company had apologised for its initial gaffe.
The hotel chain was not the only company to be accused of disrespecting China’s sovereignty, however. Shanghai-based news portal Thepaper.cn reported on Saturday that on the websites of 24 airlines, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were all listed as countries.