City Beat | Marriott fiasco shows there’s no room for disrespect when it comes to China’s sovereignty

Growing scrutiny from Chinese citizens reflects a simple, if hard, truth: prevailing practices that were not taken too seriously in the past are now becoming unacceptable, writes Tammy Tam

Reading Time:3 minutes

The concept of a red line when it comes to sovereignty is familiar enough for Hongkongers. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:09pm, 14 Jan 2018Updated: 8:25pm, 14 Jan 2018

It started with a public outcry spreading over the internet, followed by stern official rebukes, after mainland Chinese netizens noticed the Marriott International hotel chain listing Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tibet as independent countries in a questionnaire it sent to customers.

That turned out to be only the beginning of a rule-setting campaign to ensure respect for China’s sovereignty.

In another development in Hong Kong, former lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai was sacked by Polytechnic University for desecrating the national and Hong Kong flags during a Legislative Council meeting last year.

The Marriott controversy is a timely reminder to foreign investors. Photo: Xinhua

They were separate cases but the message was the same: from now there will be a price to pay for showing disrespect for China’s territorial integrity.

This is not just the official line, but a sentiment shared by many ordinary Chinese people. So is it patriotism or populism?

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.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}City Beat | Marriott fiasco shows there’s no room for disrespect when it comes to China’s sovereignty

City Beat | Marriott fiasco shows there’s no room for disrespect when it comes to China’s sovereignty