米俳優ジョン・シナさん、台湾を国と呼び謝罪　中国語でメッセージ

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】カーアクション映画『ワイルド・スピード／ジェットブレイク』に出演した米国のプロレスラーで俳優のジョン・シナさんは２５日、台湾を「国」と呼んだ発言が中国で多くの批判を生んだことを受け、中国のファンに向け中国語で謝罪した。（写真は米ネバダ州ラスベガスで開かれたイベントで話をする俳優のジョン・シナさん）
　シナさんは同作の宣伝で５月初めに台湾を訪問し、ファンイベントで台湾を「国」と呼んだ。中国は台湾を自国の一部とみなしており、この発言は中国のソーシャルメディアで炎上。セナさんは２５日、中国版ツイッターの微博（ウェイボー）に、日常会話レベルの標準中国語で謝罪する動画を投稿した。
　シナさんは、「『ワイルド・スピード／ジェットブレイク』でとてもたくさんのインタビューに答えてきたが、１度のインタビューで間違いを犯してしまった」とコメント。「本当に、とても重要なことだけれど、私は中国と中国の人々を愛し、尊敬している。間違いをとても申し訳なく思っており、おわびする」と語った。
　この動画は２４０万回再生され、中国のメディアでも大きく報じられた。だがソーシャルメディアユーザーらは納得しきれない様子で、ある微博ユーザーは「『台湾は中国の一部だ』と中国語で言わない限り、受け入れない」と書き込んだ。
　政府系メディアの環球時報によると『ワイルド・スピード／ジェットブレイク』は中国で２１日に公開され、興行収入は１億４８００万ドル（約１６１億円）に上った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/05/26-13:48）

Fast & Furious 9 star John Cena made a U-turn Tuesday, apologising to Chinese fans after he called Taiwan a country and sparked outrage in the world's largest movie market.
Beijing sees democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory which is to be seized one day, by force if necessary, and rages at any diplomatic attempts to recognise the island as an independent nation.
But American wrestling star turned actor Cena left his diplomatic lane during a trip to Taiwan in early May to promote the franchise of action movies about fast cars, making the country comment during a fan meet.
On Tuesday, as outrage billowed across China's social media, he released an apology on the Weibo platform in conversational-level Mandarin.
I did many, many interviews for Fast & Furious 9, and I made a mistake during one interview, Cena said in the video, without repeating the controversial term.
I must say, which is very very important, that I love and respect China and Chinese people. I'm very, very sorry for my mistake. I apologise.
The video was played 2.4 million times on the strictly-controlled social media site, while Chinese media leapt on the apology.
Fast & Furious 9 smashed through the box office during its May 21 release in China last weekend, raking in $148 million, according to the nationalist Global Times newspaper.
But social media users appeared only partially appeased.
Please say 'Taiwan is part of China' in Chinese, or we won't accept it, said one Weibo user, while another lamented the American's apparent lack of knowledge that Taiwan is an integral part of China.
The apology also provoked indignation from American politicians who accused the actor of censoring himself to appease Beijing.
A world where #China's Communist Party controls what Americans can say isn't some nightmarish future threat, tweeted Republican senator Marco Rubio, linking to the apology. It's already here.
China's vast consumer market has in recent years been weaponised against critics of Beijing.
Entities including the NBA and global fashion giants have faced boycotts and a battering on social media for speaking out on rights abuses or political issues China deems off-limits.
burs-st/ft