Professional Wrestler and Actor John Cena Accidentally called Taiwan a country.
Is this the end of his career in mainland China?
Welcome to China Uncensored.
I’m Chris Chappell.
Did you know American World Wrestling Entertainment star John Cena speaks Mandarin Chinese?
You want the Chinese version, I'll give you that too.
I want the gold belt.
I am the champion.
I will never give up!
Like a lot of people who want to get a foothold in the China market, John Cena began learning
Mandarin many years ago.
Here he is in 2016 introducing WWE in Mainland China.
Please allow me to tell you a little about WWE.
The WWE marketspace in China wasn’t big in the past.
I think this is a bad thing.
But the problem with pandering to the China market is...sometimes you have to pander to
the China market.
And that can get complicated when part of the China market is Taiwan.
On May 8, John Cena did a promotional interview on Taiwanese television to promote the upcoming
film “Fast & Furious 9” —and its world premier in Taiwan.
“Taiwan will be the first country to see ‘Fast & Furious 9.’”
I know, you’re shocked.
There’s going to be a Fast & Furious NINE?!
How many of these freaking movies are they going to make?!
How do you outdo a submarine car chase?
Also shocking: John Cena just called Taiwan a country.
“Taiwan will be the first country...”
And now John Cena is being canceled in mainland China.
Because inadvertently referring to Taiwan as a country instead of a region one time
in a language he’s just learning to speak...is enough to spark outrage among mainland China’s
butt-hurt online commentators.
You know who you are.
You’re the ones writing angry comments below this video right now.
But before you do, let me just say one thing: Taiwan...is...a...country.
It has its own independent, democratic government.
It was never part of the People’s Republic of China.
Taiwan is a country.
Now you can finish writing those angry comments.
But unlike me, John Cena still has dreams of being in the China market.
And that’s why instead of defending his comments, he apologized.
Hello China, this is John Cena, I have something I must say.
During the promotion of Fast & Furious 9 I’ve done tons and tons of interviews, but made
one mistake.
I need to say now, it’s very very very very very important how much I love and respect
China and Chinese people.
I am very sorry for my mistake.
I am very sorry.
Sorry.
Bye.
John Cena is not afraid to take on Vin Diesel man to man... but he sure wusses out when
it comes to the China market.
Speaking of Vin Diesel, my favoring Chinese state-run media, The Global Times, contrasted
the two men, saying “Vin Diesel said he was grateful to Chinese mainland audiences
for supporting the Fast and Furious series, which led him to do something unprecedented:
He asked the film company to release Fast & Furious 9 in the Chinese mainland first,
as a way of thanking mainland fans.”
“Hello my brothers and sisters in China.
I am Vin Diesel.
Finally I am here.”
So, now Fast & Furious 9 opens in mainland China first, instead of Taiwan.
Although technically, that’s because Taiwan closed theaters due to a recent spike in Covid-19—a
plague that came from mainland China...like political correctness.
Speaking of the plague of political correctness, this brouhaha over John Cena’s comments
are part of a long-standing problem for anyone who wants to do business in the China market.
It’s one of the strongest tactics used by Chinese state-run media to manipulate public
opinion or put pressure on brands and businesses.
Back in 2016, Tzuyu, a Taiwanese member of the famous K-pop group Twice, was seen waving
the ROC flag on a television show.
And then her agency, JYP Entertainment, allegedly coerced her into publishing an apology video.
There is only one China.
The two sides of the strait are one body.
I have always identified as a Chinese person, and a proud one at that.
(pause…)
Wow, that looks sincere.
Interestingly enough, that controversy happened right before Taiwan’s 2016 elections.
The forced apology video didn’t really help cross-strait relations.
“Taiwan election analysts have said the issue may have contributed as much as 1 to
2 percent of the electorate’s vote to Ms Tsai, whose DPP traditionally backs independence
for the self-governed island.”
And the list goes on.
Taiwanese actress Vivian Sung issued an apology after being caught calling Taiwan her ‘Favorite
Country’ in an old interview.
Zara apologized for simply listing Taiwan as a country on its website.
More recently in 2020, “two virtual Japanese YouTube hosts were suspended... from live-streaming
for three weeks” by their talent agency.
“The suspension came after the pair included Taiwan on a list of countries that had contributed
the most to their subscribers, and displayed [Taiwan’s] national flag.”
So even virtual, animated people can be cancelled for calling Taiwan a country.
A South Korean variety TV show was also boycotted by Chinese viewers for showing a Taiwanese
flag on a game board, posted next to a Chinese PRC flag.
Apologizing to China has almost become the norm over the years for everyone in the entertainment
industry.
Very few people can stand up to that kind of pressure.
Except me, of course.
But the trick is...I’m not very entertaining.
But what actual market impact have John Cena’s comments had?
I’ll tell you after the break.
Welcome back.
The public outrage over John Cena calling Taiwan a country shows just how much the China
market can be manipulated to punish foreigners.
Overnight, the approval rating for ‘Fast And Furious 9’ dropped by 2%.
“Before, it was predicted that the final box office of ‘Fast and Furious 9’ could
reach 2.3 billion yuan.
But due to the careless speech, the box office forecast has dropped to 1.5 billion.’”
As other articles put it, “Fast And Furious 9 Villain John Cena, Speaks Chinese Well,
Likes Laoganma [hot sauce], Yet Supports Taiwan?”
“There are too many ‘two-faced celebrities’ from foreign countries, and they always want
to come to the mainland only to make money.
Their friendly behavior towards China is not sincere.”
Even after John Cena’s apology, some Chinese people just didn’t buy it.
“You better say, in Chinese, ‘Taiwan is part of China’, or else we will not accept
your apology.”
“I’m going to pass out.
In Taiwan, he says Taiwan province is a country.
In the Mainland, he says he respects Chinese people.
How two-faced.
I don’t understand why Chinese people should tolerate him.
He’s profiting from Chinese people’s money with such an unclear political stance, and
yet people will still watch his movies?
What generation is this!”
Of course there were some people who focused on educating the pro wrestler.
“Remember from now on, Taiwan is a part of China, Hong Kong is a part of China, they
were never independent countries.”
“I applaud you for your fast and serious response in standing up to admit your errors.
If you could record yourself saying Taiwan is a part of China, that would be even better.
I hope you enjoy China and can spend more time understanding China.”
Well I’m sure he understands China much better now—after seeing how one sentence
has nearly jeopardized the access to China he’s worked so hard for.
John Cena is the perfect example of what happens when optimistic foreigners think they can
have a future in the China market.
You spend years learning the language, and building relationships.
But it’s always a ticking time bomb.
And John Cena’s day just happened to come.
And this is actually a gift to the Chinese Communist Party.
They don’t really care what John Cena said.
You can’t offend this man.
It’s just an opportunity to make a famous foreigner get down on his knees and beg.
And it’s a lesson to other foreigners to toe the Party line.
And now it’s time to answer a question from you, viewers who support China Uncensored
by contributing through the crowd-funding website Patreon.
Aladin Masic asks: "If Xi Jinping was to die from ‘natural causes’ what would happen
to the CCP: continue as normal, or a 180?
Xi Jinping's death would mean what for China?"
Interesting question, Aladin.
This has been a topic of much debate.
For example, this think tank essay called The Longer Telegram argues that China would
be better without Xi Jinping.
That it could reform, if only Xi Jinping were removed.
That...is stupid.
I’m not defending Xi Jinping.
He’s done some very bad things.
Like lock up Uyhgurs in concentration camps.
But all the bad things Xi Jinping has done are just extensions of the terrible things
the CCP has been doing for more than 70 years.
Like lock up intellectuals.
And lock up democracy advocates.
And lock up Falun Gong.
And lock up Tibetans.
Every Chinese leader has at least one group they arbitrarily go after as a way to maintain
power.
The chance of the Chinese Communist Party reforming itself and becoming a liberal democracy
after Xi Jinping dies...is less than my chance of teaming up with John Cena in the next big
China movie.
So don’t fall for it.
Regardless of what happens to Xi Jinping, the fundamental problem is the Chinese Communist
Party.
It’s rotten to the core.
On the plus side, at least we have Taiwan.
Which is a country.
Thanks for your question, Aladin.
And thank you for watching.
Go to Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored and learn how you can support China Uncensored with
as little as a dollar per episode.
The link is below.
I’m Chris Chappell.
Thanks for watching.