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China is strongly opposing Kylian Mbappé, a French soccer player, for insulting Mao Zedong, considered the founding father of China. The Chinese company canceled its sponsorship contract with the athlete. Mbappe apologized for his "careless" comments, but Chinese state television canceled broadcasts of his team's matches on the 1st.
Mbappé sparked a huge backlash after saying that the ``funniest'' meme - the text, images and videos that circulate on the internet - is a composite of his face with that of a ``Chinese dictator'' who resembles Mao Zedong. The remarks were said to have been made on the French talk show "The Bridge."
In response to this incident, several major Chinese companies announced that they would terminate their sponsorship contracts with the athlete.
On October 27, China Central Television Headquarters (China Media Group), the parent company of China Central Television (CCTV), announced that it would temporarily suspend broadcasting matches of La Liga, the Spanish soccer league. Mbappé is a striker for Real Madrid in the same league.
The Chinese media group also demanded an apology from Mbappé, Real Madrid and La Liga as an "absolute condition" for the situation to be resolved.
Mbappé apologized on the same day, saying, ``My words were thoughtless. I now understand that they hurt many people in China and the Chinese community around the world.''
In response, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would take the matter "seriously."
Real Madrid and La Liga also apologized.
The Chinese media group said it accepted the apology, but did not say how long it would continue to suspend broadcasting.
Due to these circumstances, CCTV announced on the 1st that it would not broadcast the Real Madrid match.
The team defeated Racing Santander 3-0 on the day. Mbappe also scored a goal.
Not accepted in China
Mbappé's jokes were not well received in China.
Mao Zedong led the Chinese Communist Party to victory in the civil war and founded the People's Republic of China. He died in 1976.
While he is revered within the Chinese Communist Party, he is seen by some as the leader of an extremely brutal period in China's history. His Great Leap Forward led to a famine that killed tens of millions of people, and the Cultural Revolution led to violent purges throughout Chinese society.
This is not the first time China has canceled sports broadcasts due to politically sensitive issues.
Broadcasting of U.S. professional basketball NBA games was suspended for one year starting in October 2019. During the period when large-scale pro-democracy protests were being held in Hong Kong, former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted on social media supporting the protesters.
Morey faced heavy criticism from Chinese fans, sponsors and business partners and recanted his comments.
"Since that tweet, I have had many opportunities to hear and consider other views," he later wrote. "I have always been grateful for the tremendous support of my Chinese fans and sponsors. ... I want those who were offended to understand that it was never my intention to offend or mislead."
(English article China state broadcaster pulls La Liga following matches Mbappé joke)
