Looks the former nba star, Dwight Howard had to issue an apology after folks in China were slamming him for referring to Taiwan as a “country.”
Howard, 37, made the comment as he appeared with the island’s vice president, William Lai-Chingte, to promote a contest that will allow the winners to spend a night in Taiwan’s presidential office. “Since I came to Taiwan, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation of this country,” said the eight-time NBA All-Star. After the video began to make rounds on social media, “#HowardTaiwanindependence” started trending. “You were my idol, but not anymore,” one twitter user wrote. Another wrote that Taiwan was “an inseparable part of China.”
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Howard quickly addressed the backlash and issued an apology saying, “If I offended anyone in China, I apologize,” he said. “It was not my intention to harm anyone with what I said in the commercial.”
He added that when he used the word “country,” he did not mean that Taiwan was a sovereign nation.
Taiwan is a self-governing democratic island in East Asia with its own government, economy, and borders, but it is not universally recognized as a sovereign state by all countries. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory, while Taiwan considers itself a separate and independent country known officially as the Republic of China (ROC).
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The international community is divided on the status of Taiwan, with some countries recognizing it as a sovereign state and others maintaining official diplomatic relations with the PRC and not recognizing Taiwan as a separate country. The United Nations does not recognize Taiwan as a member state, as most countries have agreed to the “One China” policy, which recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China. However, Taiwan participates in some international organizations under the name “Chinese Taipei.” and it seems some people in China were not feeling his comments. #Socialites was he in the wrong for this?