China firms distancing from Pelosi trip to Taiwan
BEIJING Reuters -- From a Chinese soy sauce maker to an Asia-focused asset manager, companies in China are rushing to distance themselves from geopolitical tensions over Taiwan after visiting the island last week by a high-profile U.S. official.
China claims to have self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, and the visit of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei last week has sparked a wave of Chinese nationalism and huge military drills, in defiance of Beijing's warnings.
China's social media users have targeted companies and celebrities they see as unpatriotic or supportive of Taiwan's independence - such as candy brand Snickers, whose owner apologised last week for a product launch that was seen as suggesting Taiwan is a country.
On Saturday, Foshan Haitian Flavoring and Food Co Ltd, China's largest soy sauce maker by sales, issued a lengthy apology saying that it had fired an unidentified employee who attracted social media attention with a private post that celebrated Pelosi's visit.
The inappropriate content published against Haitian culture, does not match with Haitian values, and hurts the feelings of the Chinese people, causing a negative societal influence, the company said on its Weibo account, promising it would manage its employees better.
According to a statement on Monday, Asian asset manager Matthews International Capital Management said that the company was founded by Paul Matthews, not Paul Pelosi, and that it did not have any current ownership or business ties with William Hambrecht, who is a friend and political supporter of Pelosi, contrary to media reports.
Matthews, whose main shareholders include Paul Matthews, Mark Headley, Mizuho Financial Group Inc and Royal Bank of Canada, are working with media outlets to take prompt corrective action, according to the latest misreporting and false statements about our firm.
In a separate case, Taiwanese chip maker United Microelectronics Corp UMC distanced itself from its founder Robert Tsao, who pledged to donate NT $3 billion US $100 million to Taiwan bolster its defences after his comments were pilloried by Chinese social media users.
In a statement, UMC said Mr Tsao retired from UMC more than 10 years ago. He has nothing to do with UMC. The Chinese state media warned that companies should consider their access to the world's second largest economy with respect to the Taiwan situation and Pelosi, who has been sanctioned by China after her visit.
It is likely that if any ties of interest can be found in the business activities of Pelosi and her immediate family members, they will be cut off, the state-backed Global Times newspaper said in an editorial over the weekend.
On Monday, China's military announced fresh military drills in the seas and airspace around Taiwan - a day after the scheduled end of its largest ever exercises, confirming the fears of security analysts and diplomats that Beijing would continue to exert pressure on Taiwan's defences.