Daimler Apologizes After Dalai Lama Post Draws Outrage in China
It featured a quote popularly attributed to the Dalai Lama: "Look at the situations from all angles,
and you will become more open." The Instagram post provoked an outcry from Chinese internet users, many of whom pledged to boycott the Mercedes brand.
6, 2018
The German carmaker Daimler publicly apologized on Tuesday after its Mercedes-Benz
brand caused an outcry in China by quoting the Dalai Lama in a social media post.
Last month, the American hotel chain Marriott International publicly pledged
that it did not support separatist elements in China after it listed Tibet and Taiwan, a democratic island that Beijing considers to be a breakaway province, as separate countries.
The post on the Mercedes-Benz Instagram account, which was widely viewed before being deleted,
carried the hashtag "#MondayMotivation" and showed a white Mercedes car on a beach.
Many companies, including Apple and Yum Brands, which owns the restaurant franchises Pizza Hut and KFC, have had to apologize because of an internet-savvy population
that is quick to stoke a backlash against foreign businesses.
Many in China view the Dalai Lama as a dangerous voice for separatism in a region, Tibet, that they consider an integral part of their country.
