Italian luxury fashion brand Bulgari has been forced to apologize after referring to Taiwan as a country.
The designer label begged for pardon on the Chinese social media site Weibo after users flooded the brand with complaints for categorizing Taiwan as a country on its website.
Bulgari, which operates stores both in the People's Republic of China and in Taiwan, marked the two as separate nations on its website's map of worldwide store locations.
"Our brand has immediately corrected the mistakenly marked store addresses and map indications on the overseas official website, which resulted from management negligence," Bulgari wrote in a statement.
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The luxury brand added, "We deeply apologize for the mistake."
Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, is an island off the coast of Asia without consistent nationhood status. Taiwan declared itself independent of the People's Republic of China following the Communist takeover of the mainland and has claimed the continuation of governance from pre-revolutionary China.
The People's Republic of China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has characterized the self-sufficient island as an irregular and disruptive territory that must be brought back into the fold of the greater national polity.
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Chinese leaders and the nation's public frequently demand recognition of China's claims to Taiwan from foreign governments and businesses.
Taiwan, having operated independently for decades and maintaining diplomatic relationships with nations around the world, is often a stumbling block for those unaware of the tense relationship.
Other luxury fashion companies that have previously stumbled with Chinese consumers by characterizing Taiwan as an independent nation include Coach, Valentino, Givenchy and more.
