Marriot employee sacked for 'wrongfully liking' Twitter post

The Marriott has apologised for the mistake and taken disciplinary action against the employee. Photo/123RF.

US hotel giant Marriott said it is in the process of sacking an employee for "wrongfully liking" a Twitter post by a group that supports independence for Tibet in its latest effort to calm a storm of criticism sparked by a company survey that referred to the Chinese region, and self-ruled Taiwan, as countries, Chinese state media reported.

Craig Smith, president and managing director of Asia-Pacific for Marriott International, made the announcement at a meeting with the China National Tourism Administration on Friday, Xinhua reported.

Wang Xiaofeng, deputy director of the administration, said listing Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as countries was an infringement of China's territorial integrity and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.

This saw Marriot join Delta Air Lines and Zara as another company in China's bad books over Tibet and Taiwan gaffes.

Xiaofeng said the hotel group should learn from the experience and do all it can to minimise any negative impact.

Smith explained that the email questionnaire that triggered the controversy had been produced by an outsourcing company, but apologised for Marriott's failure to notice the error. He added that the hotel group had suspended its dealings with the company.

As for the Marriott employee who "liked" the Twitter post by Friends of Tibet, Smith said disciplinary proceedings had been started.

"Due to the mistake of an individual employee, our official [Twitter] account wrongly 'liked' the tweet supporting Tibet independence and misled the public. [We] have now suspended this employee and dismissal proceedings are underway," he was quoted as saying.

Friends of Tibet congratulate global hotel chain #Marriott International for listing #Tibet as a country along with #HongKong and #Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/SXKWb20v3e

— Friends of Tibet (@friendsoftibet) January 9, 2018

Calls and emails asking Marriott for comment went unanswered on Saturday.

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.

Marriott International respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We don’t support separatist groups that subvert the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We sincerely apologize for any actions that may have suggested otherwise.

— Marriott Bonvoy (@MarriottBonvoy) January 11, 2018

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.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China on Saturday demanded that all foreign airlines with routes to China check the accuracy of their websites and apps, and rectify any errors.

On Friday, the administration summoned executives from Delta Air Lines after it was found to have listed Taiwan and Tibet as countries. The airline issued an apology, saying it had made a "grave mistake".

Similarly, international fashion brand Zara and medical equipment maker Medtronic were ordered by Shanghai's internet regulator to update their websites after they too were found to have to referred to Taiwan as a country.

The two companies complied with the request and issued public apologies on their Chinese websites.

- South China Morning Post