Earlier this week, two videos shot in Paris and posted by a blogger surnamed Zhang went viral on social media.
One of the videos, published under the account name “Instructor Zhang’s Interesting Life,” showed that although many flags were hanging in the lobby of the Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Paris, the flag of mainland China was apparently nowhere to be seen.
It also shows Zhang talking to a mainland Chinese chef who works at the hotel, who said a manager from Taiwan had asked for the Chinese flag to be taken down.
In another video, the hotel apparently refused Zhang’s request to put up the Chinese flag again, saying that all other flags would also be taken down.
As of Friday, the two videos had more than 3 million views on microblogging site Weibo, and the same clips had received nearly 2 million and 1 million likes, respectively, on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
Numerous Internet users joined the calls for a boycott of the hotel chain and even its parent company, the Evergreen Group.
One of the most popular comments read: “A hotel that is not even willing to fly the Chinese flag – should we allow it to make money from us?”
The Evergreen Group is a Taipei-based shipping company whose subsidiaries include EVA Air, one of Taiwan’s two largest airlines, and the Evergreen Laurel Hotel, which operates ten hotels worldwide, including one in Shanghai.
Since Friday, users have been unable to book Evergreen Laurel hotels through a number of mainland travel service websites.
There is no official comment from Beijing on the incident.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China that must be reunited with the mainland – by force if necessary. Most countries, including France, do not recognize the island as an independent state.
Liang Wen-chieh, a spokesman for the Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei, told a news conference on Thursday: “Using nationalism to disrupt the economy and boost traffic will not make China great. It will only anger the international community more and more.”
Relations between the mainland and Taiwan have deteriorated in recent years, particularly after the election of William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has repeatedly described as a “stubborn separatist.”
Tensions were also fueled by angry social media users.
A Taiwanese businessman who works in the semiconductor industry on the mainland and wished to remain anonymous said the hostilities had “seriously affected” his willingness to work on the mainland.
“I hope the incident will be cleared up as soon as possible and that it will not spread as widely as anti-Japanese sentiments. There should be a way out for (the Taiwanese people),” he added.
He said he did not want to be forced to “choose between the mainland and Taiwan.”
Some Chinese media also criticized the Evergreen Laurel hotel for not explicitly listing Taiwan as a province of China on its website. The website was updated on Friday and now lists hotels by city rather than country.
Chinese social media has repeatedly called for consumers to boycott companies that have hurt nationalist sentiments, including luxury goods companies, airlines and clothing firms.
Last year, the Bulgari Group faced similar accusations for failing to list Taiwan as a province of China on its website. The company later apologized and changed its website.
The Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Shanghai issued a statement on Thursday expressing its “deep regret.”
“We do not want this incident to affect the feelings of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and hope that cross-strait relations will develop peacefully and go in the direction desired by people on both sides,” the statement said.
When asked, Evergreen Laurel’s headquarters in Taipei referred to the statement from the Shanghai hotel. The Paris hotel was also asked for a statement.
