German luxury car giant Mercedes-Benz has been forced to apologise to the Chinese people after quoting the Dalai Lama.
The company uploaded a post to its Instagram account showing one of its vehicles on the beach, with the Dalai Lama quote “Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open”.
However, the Tibetan spiritual leader isn’t popular with the Chinese government due to his criticism of the regime.
The post also read “start your week with a fresh perspective on life from the Dalai Lama”, Telegraph.co.uk reports.
Following criticism from Chinese commenters, Mercedes deleted the post and put out an apology in its verified Weibo account.
“Even though we deleted the related information as soon as possible, we know this has hurt the feelings of people of this country,” Mercedes
“We have immediately taken real action to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, including among our colleagues abroad, and in this way regulate our behaviour.”
China’s foreign ministry applauded the apology.
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