Shanghai closes Marriott's website and app in China

[TaiShang]

This is how it should be. Retaliate fast and punish fiercely for any disrespect of China's sovereignty.

***

Shanghai closes Marriott's website and app in China

CGTN
2018-01-11

The Shanghai Cyberspace Administration on Thursday closed down the official Chinese website and the smartphone app of Marriott International Inc. for a week, over the hotel chain’s listing Chinese regions including Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Tibet as “countries” in a customer questionnaire.

The Shanghai authorities urged the group to “start a thorough self-inspection, remove the law-violating information and publish the investigation result and measures to the public”.

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

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

In a recent customer questionnaire sent to its members through email, the world’s biggest hotel chain listed Chinese regions Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Tibet as “countries”, triggering widespread outrage among the Chinese netizens on Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter.

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 incident from happening again.

The group issued an apology on its official @MarriottRewards Weibo account on Tuesday, saying that they had suspended all the questionnaires, and amended the options.

A Marriott hotel in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. /VCG Photo

However, Marriott’s members revealed that soon after it published the apologizing letter on the Weibo account, the hotel chain’s Twitter account liked a tweet that supported “Tibet independence”.

The double-tongued behaviors of the group re-ignited Chinese social media and Chinese people took to social media, calling for a boycott against the hotel chain. Many of its members said they have already canceled their bookings with the hotel chain.

Screenshot of Marriott's apology on Twitter. /CGTN Photo‍

The Weibo account @MarriottRewards issued three other apologies between Wednesday morning and Thursday, emphasizing that “Marriott International respects Chinese sovereignty and its territorial integrity”, and that they “sincerely apologize for any actions that led to misunderstanding on the aforementioned stance”.

Its Twitter account issued the same apology in English, however, it remains unclear whether Marriott can win back the hearts of its Chinese customers.

In its official statement, the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration said its following decisions would be made in accordance to Marriott’s responses.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3159444d78677a6333566d54/share_p.html

 

[Martian2]

Marriott thought it could be anti-China without having to pay a price.

Let's promote Tibetan and Taiwanese independence.

If we get caught, say it was an unintended mistake.

Why not send a questionnaire with South Tibet as a Chinese territory?

Why is it always anti-China with a lame excuse afterwards?

It's pretty brazen to promote Tibetan independence while conducting business in China.
----------

So why do it (promoting Tibetan independence)?

Well, a possible answer is that the US government is pressuring large American corporations (with US government contracts) to promote the US government's agenda.

Without Tibetan independence, China is a larger country in land area than the United States. China is basically unbeatable militarily.

The only way is to pry away chunks of China's territory. This reduces important resources, including uranium. There is less room to place thermonuclear warheads and ICBMs.

The most likely reason is the US government is pressuring large US corporations to follow the long-term strategic plan. Hence, Tibetan independence keeps popping up every few years.
----------

The United States has to get rid of Tibet and Xinjiang provinces to make China vulnerable.

My proposal is the exact opposite. I want to add Outer Mongolia to make China invincible.

The United States government and I share the same geopolitical view of China. Land and resources are extremely valuable. The US government wants to subtract substantial amounts of land and resources from China. I want to ADD substantial amounts of land and resources to China.

Tibet province: 474,300 square miles (equal to 3 Californias)
Outer Mongolia: 604,600 square miles (equal to 4 Californias)
Xinjiang province: 642,800 square miles

 

[Menthol]

Why is Marriott not supporting USA presidents to be judged and punished as war criminal in international court??

Marriott is like a warlord, love if war happened and see other people suffering!

 

[Place Of Space]

Some of American's brains have illness. The fact is there always, they can never see it. They often do things as to their own ridiculous understanding or opinion.

 

[qwerrty]

how to kill your buisness in china.. lol....... a well funded bike-sharing app tried something similar like that too and now bankrupt

 

[rott]

Good. They should be closed down permanently for violating China's sovereignty.

 

[Jlaw]

Good. They should be closed down permanently for violating China's sovereignty.

That would be the right thing to do. No fines? Just suspended their app and website? Too lenient and pussy like

 

[rott]

Stop staying in American hotels and buying their stuffs. We need to take classes from the Indians.

 

[TaiShang]

That would be the right thing to do. No fines? Just suspended their app and website? Too lenient and pussy like

I agree. It is too lenient. Why not give a total closure punishment and make a strong precedent?

Marriott thought it could be anti-China without having to pay a price.

Let's promote Tibetan and Taiwanese independence.

If we get caught, say it was an unintended mistake.

Why not send a questionnaire with South Tibet as a Chinese territory?

Why is it always anti-China with a lame excuse afterwards?

It's pretty brazen to promote Tibetan independence while conducting business in China.
----------

So why do it (promoting Tibetan independence)?

Well, a possible answer is that the US government is pressuring large American corporations (with US government contracts) to promote the US government's agenda.

Without Tibetan independence, China is a larger country in land area than the United States. China is basically unbeatable militarily.

The only way is to pry away chunks of China's territory. This reduces important resources, including uranium. There is less room to place thermonuclear warheads and ICBMs.

The most likely reason is the US government is pressuring large US corporations to follow the long-term strategic plan. Hence, Tibetan independence keeps popping up every few years.
----------

The United States has to get rid of Tibet and Xinjiang provinces to make China vulnerable.

My proposal is the exact opposite. I want to add Outer Mongolia to make China invincible.

The United States government and I share the same geopolitical view of China. Land and resources are extremely valuable. The US government wants to subtract substantial amounts of land and resources from China. I want to ADD substantial amounts of land and resources to China.

Tibet province: 474,300 square miles
Outer Mongolia: 604,600 square miles (equal to 4 Californias)
Xinjiang province: 642,800 square miles

If any China company did a similar act of disrespect for the US sovereignty, there would be huge backlash. China is way too lenient and I am coming more to terms with the strategic significance of your proposal as an indirect response to US aggression.

***

MOFA: Foreign companies should respect Chinese territorial integrity

CGTN

2018-01-12 15:38 GMT+8

Updated 2018-01-12 17:17 GMT+8

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.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3555544d78677a6333566d54/share_p.html

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese authorities investigate hotel's customer questionnaire

By Li Shengnan
2018-01-12

‍‍Chinese authorities have shut down Marriott International's website in China. The US hotel giant mistakenly listed the Chinese regions of Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao as separate countries in a questionnaire sent out to customers.

Shanghai's cyberspace authority responded late on Thursday by ordering Marriott, which operates more than 120 hotels in China, to close its local website and app, and completely clear out illegal and irregular information.

The company's blunder, for which it has since apologized, triggered an uproar on Chinese social media.

A JW Marriott hotel /VCG Photo

Some called on the public to boycott Marriott, saying the company "cannot earn money from China on the one hand, and hurt China's national interests on the other" and that "China will not tolerate companies engaging in tricks to violate national interests."

Marriott's Chinese website now carries a message with an apology.

It says the company does not support separatist organizations that damage China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The company says it sincerely apologizes for any actions that led to misunderstandings about its stance.

Marriott's Chinese website and app have not been accessible since Thursday evening.

Statement from Marriott's president and CEO /Screenshot via news.marriott.com

Shanghai authorities are probing whether the gaffe in the company's questionnaire violated national cybersecurity and advertising laws.

"We welcome foreign investment, and the foreign companies here must respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China's laws and regulations and respect Chinese people's national sentiments," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang on Friday. "This is also the basic respect to the country that any foreign company that invests here must show."

The hotel giant has planned to open dozens more locations in China in the coming years.

It also formed a joint venture with China's Internet giant Alibaba to sell online travel bookings. The partnership will give Marriott access to over 500 million people and expand its market.

But it seems the company now has to learn some basic principles before it goes bigger in China.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/34516a4d78677a6333566d54/share_p.html

 

[scope]

Real accidents don't happen like clockwork. You ever notice these white people "didn't mean it" or "they were just paying homage to your culture" or it was an "isolated incident". Sure, isolated incidents that happen every week...

"The white man speaks with a forked tongue" - First Nations proverb

Chinese and all Asians need to wake up. These dirty criminals know exactly what they're doing. They should not be tolerated if possible.

 

[TaiShang]

Real accidents don't happen like clockwork. You ever notice these white people "didn't mean it" or "they were just paying homage to your culture" or it was an "isolated incident". Sure, isolated incidents that happen every week...

"The white man speaks with a forked tongue" - First Nations proverb

Chinese and all Asians need to wake up. These dirty criminals know exactly what they're doing. They should not be tolerated if possible.

***

They indeed deserve a painful response, not just mild criticism.

***

除了万豪，ZARA、香奈儿、宝格丽…竟然也这样做！

2018-01-12 22:59社交媒体/曝光/台湾

万豪酒店将中国西藏和港澳台列为“国家”事件，在中国和大洋彼岸都余波未平。

除了不断表态道歉的万豪，网友陆续曝光，还有诸多品牌也都存在与万豪相似的情况。看来，这政治课都得重新修。

万豪接连道歉

网友说诚意就看行动

针对万豪网站和社交媒体账号将中国西藏和港澳台列为“国家”并在社交媒体上为藏独团体点赞，万豪国际集团总裁苏安励11日在一份声明中承认错误。

“我们不支持任何企图分裂中国领土主权的人，我们也不以任何方式鼓励或煽动这类个人及团体。我们意识到了事件的严重性，表示诚挚的歉意，”苏安励在给新华社记者的声明中说。

“我们为我们的错误承担责任。我们会吸取此次事件的教训，改变错误并保证类似事件不再发生。”声明说。

此前，有网民曝光，万豪在致中国会员的邮件中，在填写注册信息的页面将“中国大陆”和“香港”“台湾”“澳门”“西藏”共同列入“国家”一栏。而且，网友怒斥，这早就不是万豪第一次这样做，更不是网友第一次投诉！

随后，媒体继续曝光，万豪旗下推特账号还为一个藏独团体账号点赞。（至记者发稿时，该万豪账号已撤回了“点赞”。）

1月11日，美国马里兰州贝塞斯达的万豪国际酒店总部。新华社记者 殷博古摄

声明称，万豪在得知此事后已第一时间修改了相关表态，撤回了不当行为，并对万豪所有网站和手机应用上的相关领域进行核查以保证表述准确。

苏安励表示将积极配合中国有关部门的调查，并在得出调查结果后对负责人员采取必要的惩治措施。

其实，早在风波北京时间9日开始发酵后，万豪集团在中国的一个运营部门于10日发布一条微博，为不当做法道歉。但被许多网民批评缺乏诚意。

诚意，说到底还是看行动。

致《纽约时报》

“容易犯的错”是几个意思？

万豪一方还在忙不迭道歉，倒是美国媒体《纽约时报》的论调令人眼前一黑。《纽约时报》在报道万豪风波时，称这一错误是“普遍并容易犯下的”。

这句话顶多对了一半——这一行为确实“普遍”，但委实不应该“容易犯下”！

ZARA、宝格丽、香奈儿…

比谁改得快

在万豪事件后，不少网友继续在网上曝光，其实许多国际品牌或者外国企业在其官方网站或其他场合都存在类似问题。

在知名服装品牌“ZARA”的中国官网上，也是将“台湾”表述为“国家”。

有了前车之鉴，一些企业已加入改错行列。

比如，有网友爆料达美航空公司也在其网站个人信息注册页面上将“西藏”列在“国家”选项之中。记者看到，此时该网站已悄悄撤销“西藏”选项，也将“香港”和“澳门”也分别改成了正确表述——“中国香港特别行政区”和“中国澳门特别行政区”。

不过，记者帮忙挑了挑，错还是没改完——网站上将“中国”和“台湾”并列为国家选项。

再如，美国医疗科技公司美敦力中文网站上，在右上角所在区域选项中，除了中国（China）外，还直接列出了“中华民国（Taiwan）”的选项，并在中国香港的官网下直接将香港表述为“国家”。

在宝格丽的中文官网上，寻找最近的专卖店的“选择国家”选项中，将“中国”与“台湾”并列。

在香奈儿中文网站“联系我们”页面的“国家”选项中，将“中国“与“香港”并列。

梵克雅宝也在其网站上采取类似做法，将“中国”和“台湾”都列入“国家”列表。

这些国际知名品牌在中国都有着较为庞大的消费群体，但你们一边赚着中国消费者的钱，一边伤着中国消费者的心，不锤你们锤谁？

http://www.sohu.com/a/216331912_99966559

@AndrewJin , @cirr , @long_ , @Martian2 , @Han Patriot et al.

 

[TaiShang]

Transnational enterprises ordered to remove illegal content on websites
Xinhua, January 13, 2018

Shanghai cyberspace administration Friday ordered two transnational enterprises Zara and Medtronic to remove all illegal content from their websites.

According to reports from local media and internet users, Spanish clothes company Zara's website (zara.cn) and U.S. medical technology firm Medtronic's website (medtronic.com) had categorized Chinese territories as countries.

Shanghai cyberspace administration has investigated and issued a notification to the operators of the two websites, ordering them to remove all content that violates Chinese laws and regulations, and issue apologies on their websites before 6 p.m. Friday.

The administration also requires the two websites to conduct thorough self-inspections and further enhance inspection and management of information on their websites. They are also to submit remediation reports.

U.S.-based hotel corporation Marriott International, who categorized Chinese territories as countries in a mail questionnaire, was ordered to remove all related content from its website and mobile app Wednesday.

Marriott suspended the questionnaire and apologized.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2018-01/13/content_50222264.htm

Delta Airlines apologizes for listing China's territories as independent countries

CGTN

2018-01-13

Delta Airlines has apologized for listing Tibet and Taiwan as independent countries on its official website and promised to take immediate measures to correct the mistakes.

Delta apologized deeply for the serious mistakes that have hurt the Chinese people's feelings and it is taking immediate steps to resolve it, said a statement posted Friday night on the website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The US carrier said it will have carefully check for other possible errors and avoid such mistakes in the future, said the statement.

In the letter of apology to the CAAC and on its official website, Delta said it is fully committed to China and Chinese customers as the country is one of its most important markets.

The CAAC earlier in the day summoned representatives of Delta, urging the company to issue an immediate and public apology, and to investigate the incident thoroughly and publish the results of the investigation in a timely manner.

On the Chinese version of Delta's official website, it had listed Chinese territories, including Tibet and Taiwan, as "countries" in a drop-down menu.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/35457a4d78677a6333566d54/share_p.html

***

Freaking dogs, behave nicely only after hearing the order from the higher place. These people need to be checked under constant supervision.

 

[TaiShang]

Delta Airlines apologizes for listing China's territories as independent countries
Xinhua, January 14, 2018

Delta Airlines has apologized for listing Tibet and Taiwan as independent countries on its official website and promised to take immediate measures to correct the mistakes.

Delta apologized deeply for the serious mistakes that have hurt Chinese people's feelings and it was taking immediate steps to resolve it, said a statement posted Friday night on the website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The U.S. carrier said it will have a careful check for other possible errors and avoid such mistakes in the future.

In the letter of apology to the CAAC and on its official website, Delta said it is fully committed to China and Chinese customers as China is one of its most important markets.

The CAAC earlier in the day summoned representatives of Delta, urging the company to issue an immediate and public apology, and to investigate the incident thoroughly and publish investigation outcome in a timely manner.

On the Chinese version of Delta's official website, it listed Chinese territories, including Tibet and Taiwan, as "countries" in a drop-down menu.

The CAAC on Saturday asked all foreign airlines operating in China to conduct self-checks on their websites, mobile apps and other platforms for similar mistakes including regarding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as "countries" in an online notice.

"If there are such cases, actions should be taken immediately to rectify the mistakes," the CAAC said, adding that it will examine the process.

http://www.china.org.cn/world/2018-01/14/content_50224555.htm

***

Marriott fires employee and contractor following territorial error

Hu Min
10:57 UTC+8, 2018-01-13

Marriott International has suspended an employee and terminated the contract with a contractor who mistakenly listed Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as separate countries in a customer questionnaire, the Asia Pacific head of the world’s largest hotel chain said on Friday.

The customer questionnaire was compiled and distributed by a third-party company hired by Marriott International. However, the staff of the hotel did not review the drop-down menu, said Craig S. Smith, president and managing director of Asia Pacific at Marriott International, which has sparked an outcry among Chinese.

Smith said Marriott has ended cooperation with the unidentified third-party company. An employee has been suspended and will be fired for “liking” a tweet that "congratulates Marriott International for listing Tibet as a country" by a separatist group.

The mistake of the employee has misled the public, said Smith.

Smith made the response when meeting with Wang Xiaofeng, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration.

He apologized during the meeting and said training on China's laws and regulations will be enhanced to avoid any "serious mistake."

Wang ordered Marriott to draw a lesson from the incident and thoroughly scrutinize content on its website and app.

Meanwhile, Chinese online travel agency ly.com and lifestyle website meituan.com have removed hotels under the Marriott International group from their websites.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/1801138994/

 

[Jlaw]

Real accidents don't happen like clockwork. You ever notice these white people "didn't mean it" or "they were just paying homage to your culture" or it was an "isolated incident". Sure, isolated incidents that happen every week...

"The white man speaks with a forked tongue" - First Nations proverb

Chinese and all Asians need to wake up. These dirty criminals know exactly what they're doing. They should not be tolerated if possible.

Here's the tricks:
When Japanese companies have scandals, CEO has conference, regrets , bow head and quit...with package of course. Nothing changes for the company. Case in point, what's being done to make sure Kobe Steel will stop passing low grade steel?
When white people do it, CEO apologize and blame it on an unknown low level fictional worker and tell the world he's been let go. In reality important things like questionnaire are screened by other layers before allowing to be published. I can't believe Chinese officials believe in such BS from whites.

Delta Airlines apologizes for listing China's territories as independent countries
Xinhua, January 14, 2018

Delta Airlines has apologized for listing Tibet and Taiwan as independent countries on its official website and promised to take immediate measures to correct the mistakes.

Delta apologized deeply for the serious mistakes that have hurt Chinese people's feelings and it was taking immediate steps to resolve it, said a statement posted Friday night on the website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The U.S. carrier said it will have a careful check for other possible errors and avoid such mistakes in the future.

In the letter of apology to the CAAC and on its official website, Delta said it is fully committed to China and Chinese customers as China is one of its most important markets.

The CAAC earlier in the day summoned representatives of Delta, urging the company to issue an immediate and public apology, and to investigate the incident thoroughly and publish investigation outcome in a timely manner.

On the Chinese version of Delta's official website, it listed Chinese territories, including Tibet and Taiwan, as "countries" in a drop-down menu.

The CAAC on Saturday asked all foreign airlines operating in China to conduct self-checks on their websites, mobile apps and other platforms for similar mistakes including regarding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as "countries" in an online notice.

"If there are such cases, actions should be taken immediately to rectify the mistakes," the CAAC said, adding that it will examine the process.

http://www.china.org.cn/world/2018-01/14/content_50224555.htm

***

Marriott fires employee and contractor following territorial error

Hu Min
10:57 UTC+8, 2018-01-13

Marriott International has suspended an employee and terminated the contract with a contractor who mistakenly listed Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as separate countries in a customer questionnaire, the Asia Pacific head of the world’s largest hotel chain said on Friday.

The customer questionnaire was compiled and distributed by a third-party company hired by Marriott International. However, the staff of the hotel did not review the drop-down menu, said Craig S. Smith, president and managing director of Asia Pacific at Marriott International, which has sparked an outcry among Chinese.

Smith said Marriott has ended cooperation with the unidentified third-party company. An employee has been suspended and will be fired for “liking” a tweet that "congratulates Marriott International for listing Tibet as a country" by a separatist group.

The mistake of the employee has misled the public, said Smith.

Smith made the response when meeting with Wang Xiaofeng, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration.

He apologized during the meeting and said training on China's laws and regulations will be enhanced to avoid any "serious mistake."

Wang ordered Marriott to draw a lesson from the incident and thoroughly scrutinize content on its website and app.

Meanwhile, Chinese online travel agency ly.com and lifestyle website meituan.com have removed hotels under the Marriott International group from their websites.

https://www.shine.cn/news/nation/1801138994/

Now Delta also? Can't wait until BMW, Mercedes, Microsoft, Apple, etc join in and use more fictional workers as scapegoat. Damage already done to China's side. I have to admit, western elites pulled a nice little ruse.

China should keep opening up and let foreign companies make Chinese rich.