Snickers apologizes to China for calling Taiwan a country

Mars Wrigley, the manufacturer of the Snickers candy bar, issued an apology to China on Friday for promotional material suggesting that Taiwan is an independent country.

The ad featured the South Korean boy band BTS and introduced a special edition Snickers bar with a limited release in the countries of South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan, according to reports.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out retaking it by force. Beijing has discouraged foreign governments from dealing with Taipei directly.

BTS X SNICKERS…looks like there’s an event but is it only in Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan…😭😭

🔗 https://t.co/JS5G4Is1un@BTS_twt #BTS #방탄소년단 pic.twitter.com/RG9OB4XDjg

— bora 💜 (slow) (@modooborahae) August 4, 2022

Nationalistic Chinese influencers shared a screenshot of the Snickers promo, which included a Taiwanese flag, to popular social media site Weibo, reports The Wall Street Journal. This sparked a backlash across Chinese social media, with some users threatening to boycott the brand.

The outcry prompted Mars Wrigley to issue an apology on Friday, promising to adjust the language.

"Mars Wrigley respects China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity and conducts its business operations in strict compliance with local Chinese laws and regulations," read the apology posted to its Weibo account.

Some Chinese state media outlets gloated by sharing the Snickers apology on their social media accounts.

“Snickers on Friday apologized for marking Taiwan island as a country, saying its local team has verified & aligned the official site and social media accounts to ensure accurate content,” tweeted nationalist tabloid Global Times, along with a screenshot of Snickers’ Weibo post.

But some netizens were not satisfied.

“Say it: Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’s territory!” read one comment underneath the Snickers Weibo post that received 8,000 likes, according to Reuters.

A couple hours after the initial apology, WSJ reports Snickers added another post that read: “There is #OnlyOneChina in the world, and Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory.”