Sports
Kylian Mbappé continues to face widespread backlash on Chinese social media following his comments about Mao Zedong, despite issuing an apology for the remarks that cost him several commercial contracts in the vast Chinese market. Jokes or comments about Mao, the founder of the People's Republic of China who died in 1976, remain highly sensitive and socially taboo topics in the country. Several Chinese brands have ended their partnerships with Mbappé, and the official Chinese television has also canceled broadcasts of Spanish league football matches. The Real Madrid player apologized after noting that the funniest image circulating online was one where his face was digitally edited onto the picture of "a man, whom I think is a Chinese dictator," referring to Mao. The original joke was not published on Chinese social media platforms, which are heavily censored, or it was possibly deleted, while official media avoided mentioning Mao's name, only stating that the player made "inappropriate remarks related to China." Nevertheless, Mbappé continued to face harsh criticism from Chinese users, with one writing on the "Weibo" platform that "his comments were offensive to China and the Chinese people, and cannot be translated." At the same time, Mbappé's account on the "Xiaohongshu" platform, followed by over a million users, was frozen, preventing him from gaining new followers. A similar measure was taken on the "Weibo" app, where a notice appeared stating that following this user is prohibited due to violations of laws or the community agreement. Reports indicate that global brands like "Dior" and "Hublot" have removed Mbappé-related content from their "Weibo" accounts.
