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Canon Apologizes for Political Gaffe
Canon (Hong Kong) Co Ltd Friday apologized and retracted a compact disc that implies Taiwan and Hong Kong are not part of China.
This response answers a lawsuit from a Chongqing resident demanding 100 million yuan (US$12 million) for psychological distress, which the plaintiff said will be used for charity.
The CD contains information about Zhao Wei, a popular actress who is endorsing Canon laser printers. The CDs are free with laser printers from the Japanese company.
Information on the CD describes various"countries'' the Chinese actress has visited, and it names China, Hong Kong and Taiwan individually.
Canon (Hong Kong) yesterday apologized for the CD to its users in a statement posted on its website. The apology follows a lawsuit against the company over the CDs.
Tang Weijiang, a 29-year-old resident of the southwestern city of Chongqing, filed the suit in the Chongqing Municipal Supreme People's Court against Canon (Hong Kong)."Hong Kong and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China, a fact recognized by the international community,'' Tang said."The action of Canon shows contempt for China's sovereignty and seriously hurts the feelings of the Chinese people.''
Canon (Hong Kong) said in its apology statement that"a grave editorial error'' appeared in Zhao's data.
"We offer our sincere apologies for this,'' the statement said.
The company also pledged in its statement to stop distributing the CD and produce new ones with amended information.
And it has invited people to mail back old versions of the CDs to exchange for new ones.
Canon hopes to settle the"serious matter'' with Tang without going to court, but company sources say Tang is not satisfied with Canon's response yet.
The court said it has not decided whether to place the case on file.
The court is expected to give a formal reply to Tang in seven days, according to China's civil procedure law.
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