‘Grow some balls’: Snickers fans slam Mars Wrigley for apologising to China in fear of losing sales

Confectionary company Mars Wrigley has received backlash from all sides after apologising to China for an ad that sparked global uproar.

Snickers fans are threatening to boycott the chocolate bar after its parent company Mars Wrigley apologised to China for calling Taiwan a country in a recent new product promotion.

The release of the limited edition Snickers Bar caused a social media storm on Chinese app Weibo after screenshots emerged of the product’s marketing stating it was only available in the “countries” of South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan.

South Korean boyband BTS also featured on the promotion which was quick to receive the attention of thousands of Weibo users from China’s mainland, where any reference to Taiwan as an independent nation is seen as controversial.

Mars Wrigley quickly published an apology on its Snickers China Weibo account following the uproar, acknowledging that they had made an inaccurate statement.

“We are aware of reports on Snickers-related activities in certain regions of Asia, take this very seriously and express our deep apologies,” the statement which was posted on Friday read.

“Mars Wrigley respects China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and conducts business operations in strict compliance with local Chinese laws and regulations.”

Mars Wrigley, which is the parent company of Snickers, apologised to China after labelling Taiwan as a “country”. Picture: Getty Images

The apology, however, still wasn’t enough to satisfy some Weibo users who insisted the confectionery company failed to acknowledge Taiwan was part of China.

A second statement from Mars Wrigley was posted to the Weibo platform stating “there is only one China in this world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory”.

While those in China may now be satisfied with the apology, Mars Wrigley has since found itself in another predicament as fans of the nutty chocolate bar outside of China threaten to stop consuming the confection because its parent company gave into “bullies”.

“Snickers apologises to China for calling #Taiwan a country. Seriously? The Taiwanese people feel they’re independent … you kiss China’s ass Snickers? Boycott #Snickers shameful and pathetic,” one user commented on Twitter.

“Encourage people not to buy Snickers. Why? Pandering to #Chinese bullies. Grow some balls #snickers,” tweeted another.

Others used the hashtags #Taiwanisacounty and #TaiwanIsNotChina in their posts targeting the confectionery company.

“Won’t be buying snickers anymore …#Taiwanisacountry,” a Queenslander tweeted.

“I’m buying Chokito’s now,” another user tweeted, referring to the Nestle equivalent of a Snickers bar.

Snickers repeat after me: "Taiwan is a country, Taiwan is a country, Taiwan is a country!"#Snickers#Taiwan#SnickersTaiwanScandal

— Martin S 🇺🇦🇩🇰😭 (@mst_1976) August 6, 2022

Meanwhile, others are debating whether Taiwan should be a country, calling on China to give the island its independence.

“OMFG #Taiwan IS (sic) a country! Unless you think it’s a paint speckle on a map!” one user tweeted.

“Taiwan has its own democratically elected president and parliament, army, currency, passport. If it’s not a country, then I don’t know what it is,” tweeted another.

“Taiwan is a sovereign country of its own making. If I was China I would show the world that they respect sovereignty, otherwise how can the world respect China,” a third posted on the platform.

While the Australian government doesn’t officially regard Taiwan as an independent country. a majority of the population does.

A survey conducted by Resolve Politican Monitor for Fairfax Media in April found that less than 10 per cent of Australians consider Taiwan to be part of China.

More than two thirds of those surveyed said Australia should do “something” if China were to invade Taiwan.

Google searches for “is Taiwan a country” skyrocket

The number of Google Searches in the past day for “is Taiwan a country” increased by 40 per cent Australia-wide, with Ireland, Sweden, Netherlands and Singapore in the top five countries showing interest in the question.

Additionally, the phrase “will China invade Taiwan” has gained 180 per cent more interest worldwide while searches for the phrase “why is Taiwan not recognised as a country” jumped by 110 per cent.

While Wikipedia has listed Taiwan as a country for some time, China sees the island with a population of 24 million as a breakaway province, which is also known as the Republic of China.

Taiwan is an island off China's mainland. Picture: Screenshot / Google Maps

Mars Wrigley isn’t the first to apologise for mislabelling Asian regions as countries in fear of losing a large consumer market.

In 2018, Qantas amended its website to no longer refer to Hong Kong and Taiwan as countries, but rather as Chinese Territories.

That same year, Beijing authorities shut down the website of hotel chain Marriott in the country after a questionnaire referred to Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong as separate countries.

Then in 2019, French luxury brand Dior also issued an apology after using a map of China that didn’t include Taiwan in a presentation.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have been in the spotlight for the last week after United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the Chinese island, which Beijing claims to be part of China’s territory.

Since Ms Pelosi’s visit, China has cut ties with the United States on key issues including climate change and has since circled Taiwan with a series of military drills.

The Chinese government has also sanctioned Ms Pelosi and her family for the visit.

Inside the raging conflict between US and China over Taiwan

When the two most powerful men on Earth talked last week, Chinese strongman Xi Jinping had a chilling warning for US President Joe Biden.

Ruthless Xi calmly and coldly told him, “Those who play with fire will perish by it,” in a sinister swipe at American “provocations” over the disputed isle of Taiwan.

Just days later, the two superpowers are now locked in a stand-off which threatens to dwarf Russia’s Ukraine invasion and start World War III, The Sun reported.

China claims the democratically-run island state, just 160km off its coast, is its sovereign territory – despite US pledges to defend its right to stay free.

Nancy Pelosi, the third most powerful political figure in America, has inflamed China’s fury by “playing with fire” and visiting the island.

Veteran anti-China crusader Pelosi, 82, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, is the first major US politician to visit for 25 years – and she blasted Xi’s government while meeting with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen.

China’s response was swift, with 21 of its fighter jets crossing the Taiwan Strait as Pelosi’s plane arrived, triggering air raid sirens across the powder-keg state.

Hundreds more war jets and battleships and thousands of troops will now take part in six days of exercises at six exclusion zones nearby — some as close as 16km from the coast.

Military analysts have warned that the risk of a disastrous miscalculation and terrifying global escalation will be huge during the war games.