{"id":157457,"date":"2023-05-14T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mediaintel.asia\/?p=918233"},"modified":"2023-05-14T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T00:00:00","slug":"dwight-howard-forced-to-apologise-after-taiwan-gaffe-sparks-outrage-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/2023\/05\/14\/dwight-howard-forced-to-apologise-after-taiwan-gaffe-sparks-outrage-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Dwight Howard forced to apologise after Taiwan gaffe sparks outrage in China"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MediaIntel.Asia\"<\/a><\/div>\n

(FILES) In this file photo Dwight Howard #39 of the Los Angeles Lakers argues his foul call with referee David Guthrie #16 during the first quarter at Staples Center on February 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. - Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard says he will play when the NBA season resumes in Orlando on July 30, 2020 despite concerns the restart might distract from his social activism. Howard announced his decision to join LeBron James and his other Laker teammates in a CNN appearance late Monday, citing his contract and his hunger to win an NBA crown at age 34. (Photo by Harry How \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ AFP)
\nFormer NBA star Dwight Howard has sparked backlash in China after a promotional video in which he referred to Taiwan as a \u201ccountry\u201d.
\nIn a commercial appearance alongside Taiwan\u2019s vice-president, Howard said (in English) that he had gained \u201ca whole new appreciation of this country\u201d since moving to Taiwan to play for the Taoyuan Leopards in the T1 League.
\nWho will win it all? Watch the NBA Playoffs and every game of the NBA Finals LIVE on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
\n\u201cThis place makes me feel so much love,\u201d Howard said.
\n\u201cI experience so much hospitality in a friendly and great living environment, with such a diverse culture.
\n\u201cNow, I would like to invite everyone to experience the warmth and vitality that I have felt during my time in Taiwan.\u201d
\nThe eight-time NBA All-Star has a significant presence in China, with the sport blossoming after 7-foot-6 Yao Ming was drafted number one overall to Houston in 2002.
\nThe video has been fiercely criticised in China, with the hashtag \u201cHoward Taiwan independence\u201d trending on Chinese social media site Weibo.
\nThe video has sent Chinese social media into meltdown, with one Weibo account asking \u201cIs he crazy?\u201d.
\n\u201cThe promotional video has obvious Taiwan independence characters, how could he agree to do it?\u201d
\nHoward\u2019s official Weibo account has been flooded with criticism, with state-owned media outlet The Global Times demanding an apology.
\nHoward has since said his use of the term \u201ccountry\u201d was an issue with a \u201ccommunication barrier\u201d.
\nDwight Howard has found himself in hot water. Photo: Scott Halleran\/Getty Images\/AFP Source: AFP
\n\u201cWhere I\u2019m from, if I say I wanna go to the country, it doesn\u2019t not mean that place is a country. It\u2019s just how we talk,\u201d he told Taiwanese reporters.
\n\u201cIf I offended anyone in China I apologise. It was not my intention to harm anyone with what I said in the commercial.
\n\u201cI am not a politician. I don\u2019t want to get involved in any politics \u2026 I have the utmost respect for Chinese people and utmost respect for Taiwanese people, so it was never my intent to disrespect nobody.\u201d
\nIn a statement to media, Taiwan\u2019s Presidential spokesman Kolas Yotaka said it was \u201csad\u201d to see some Chinese internet users \u201chave their hearts broken.\u201d
\n\u201cWe do not intend to break their hearts. We welcome them to stay in Taiwan for a few nights. \u201cIf you know more about Taiwan, you will know why politicians, athletes, tourists, and entrepreneurs from all over the world like to come to our country,\u201d Yotaka said.
\nThe NBA has had a tumultuous relationship with China in recent years, with then-Houston general manager Daryl Morey sparking controversy for tweeting supporting for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in 2019.
\nEx-NBA star Dwight Howard. Photo: Abbie Parr\/Getty Images\/AFP Source: AFP
\nIn 2021, Celtics centre Enes Freedom called President Xi Jingping a \u201cbrutal dictator\u201d over the nation\u2019s treatment of Tibet, resulting in Celtics games being blocked in China.
\nTaiwan is a self-governing democracy with its own military, currency, constitution and elected government, but has been claimed as part of China as early as the 17th century.
\nJapan took control of the island in 1895 after the first Sino-Japanese War, before China took control again in 1945 after World War II.
\nAfter the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, and Mao Zedong\u2019s Communist Party took control and nationalist forces fled to Taiwan, where they ruled for several decades.
\nThe Kuomintang has remained one of Taiwan\u2019s most significant political parties, and China exerts considerable diplomatic pressure on other countries to not recognise Taiwan.
\nWhile the United States acknowledges China\u2019s position that Taiwan is part of China, it has never recognised China\u2019s claim to the island, and is also bound by law to provide Taiwan with \u201carms of a defensive character\u201d under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.
\nSimilarly, Australia\u2019s position on Taiwan is based on a 1972 Joint Communique with China signed by the Whitlam government, acknowledging China\u2019s claim while not recognising Taiwan as a sovereign state.
\nAustralia maintains an ongoing trade relationship with Taiwan, with the small island nation currently Australia\u2019s ninth-largest customer for exports.<\/p>\n

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(FILES) In this file photo Dwight Howard #39 of the Los Angeles Lakers argues his foul call with referee David Guthrie #16 during the first quarter at Staples Center on February 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. – Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight H…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":253,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[639,144,1527,339,4,693,194,465,64,1542,484,1367],"tags":[10382,2210,2086,3472,10321,10338,3610,2724,10396,10315,2240,10549,10393,7596,10386],"class_list":["post-157457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california","category-china","category-currency","category-hong-kong","category-internet","category-japan","category-news-chinese-law","category-social-media","category-taiwan","category-technology","category-united-states","category-usa","tag-activist","tag-america","tag-australia","tag-chinese","tag-communist","tag-democracy","tag-diplomacy","tag-exports","tag-houston","tag-media-intelligence","tag-military","tag-nba","tag-north-america","tag-sports","tag-tibet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/253"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157457"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157458,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157457\/revisions\/157458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}