Chinese singer Lu Han cut ties with Audemars Piguet after CEO calls Taiwan a country

Chinese singer and actor Lu Han has decided to cut ties with Swiss luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet after the CEO of the brand referred to Taiwan as a country. Lu claimed that he will defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In an Associated Press report, Audemars Piguet's CEO François-Henry Bennahmias described Taiwan as an “ultra-modern, high-tech country” in an interview. Soon after, Lu's studio issued a statement on 5 September, saying that the brand publicly made inappropriate comments that seriously violated the One-China policy. Lu and his team then urged Audemars Piguet to apologise in both Chinese and English on global platforms, but failed to reach an agreement. 

Since then, Lu's studio said Lu had decided to cut ties with the brand with immediate effect. In the statement, Lu and his studio said national interests are above all else, and Lu and his studio will defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Audemars Piguet has also issued a statement on its Weibo account, saying that the brand had regretted the "recent incident with a wrong expression", adding that Audemars Piguet always had adhered to the One-China policy and firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

This is not the first time a Chinese celebrity has called out actions by brands and sponsors. Earlier this year, Chinese celebrity endorsers dropped several foreign retail labels over labour criticisms by Wester brands in the Xinjiang region. Nike, New Balance, Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger and Converse, were some names that came under fire.The Xinjiang cotton row heated up as Chinese shoppers started boycotting companies that were refusing to use cotton grown in Xinjiang. 

Meanwhile, the US congressional commission also took a hard stance calling on NBA players in June to end endorsements of Chinese sportswear firms using cotton grown in Xinjiang such as ANTA Sports, Li-Ning and Peak Sport. The commission believed that commercial relationships with these companies create "reputational risks" for NBA and the players.

National sovereignty has been a sensitive issue in recent times. For example, Taiwanese celebrity Dee Hsu had earlier lost some endorsement deals from China as she called Taiwanese players "national athletes" on Instagram. The loss of the endorsement deals with Chinese brands come after Chinese Taipei's defeat of People's Republic of China in the Olympic men's doubles badminton final, where Hsu celebrated the success of Taiwanese athletes Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin. 

More recently, Hong Kong actress Myolie Wu was accused of promoting Hong Kong independence by Chinese netizens after using the word "China" in a sentence on Instagram when describing her job, instead of "Mainland". Unhappy Chinese netizens asked her to leave the place she was making a living from, while others dug deeper to opine that Wu did not publish any posts to show her support to China. 

Strengthen your omnichannel marketing capabilities today with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Omnichannel Marketing Asia on 23 November. Learn ways to build an evidence-based practice, up the ante on your strategies, and be head and shoulders above your competition. Click here to register today!

Related articles
Myolie Wu feels wrath of Chinese netizens for IG post initially meant to defend husband
Chinese brands drop Taiwanese celebrity for celebrating 'national athletes' at Olympics
Nike CEO says it's a brand for China after earlier boycott calls over cotton row
Cotton row heats up as US NBA players asked to end commercial ties with Chinese brands