Former NBA star Dwight Howard has apologised for causing outrage in China after calling Taiwan a "country" in a commercial appearance alongside the island's Vice President.
The 37-year-old, and one-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, is playing his trade for Taiwanese professional basketball team, the Taoyuan Leopards, having joined in November last year. But in his short time in Taiwan, Howard has managed to spark fury while filming a promotional video for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside Vice President William Lai.
"Hello everyone, I’m Dwight Howard and since I came to Taiwan I’ve gained a whole new appreciation of this country," the former NBA star said. "This place makes me feel so much love and I experience so much hospitality with [a] friendly and great living environment with such a great diverse culture."
Howard also referred to Taiwan as a "free country" which has, of course, outraged many in China, with the island's sovereignty a much-debated topic. Taiwan first split from mainland China in 1949, but China still claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan.
A Reuters report claims that the hashtag, #HowardTaiwanindependence, had nearly 400million hits on Friday on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. But Howard has since walked back his comments and is distancing himself from the highly politicised topic.
"Where I’m from if I say I wanna go to the country, it doesn’t not mean that place is a country. It’s just how we talk," CNN reports Howard saying. "If I offended anyone in China I apologise. It was not my intention to harm anyone with what I said in the commercial."
Howard added: "I am not a politician. I don’t want to get involved in any politics… I have the utmost respect for Chinese people and utmost respect for Taiwanese people, so it was never my intent to disrespect nobody."
The center was the first overall pick from the 2004 NBA Draft, being selected by the Orlando Magic, where he went on to spend eight years of his career. Howard then moved on to LA Lakers, who he had three separate NBA stints with.
He also played for the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and the Philadelphia 76ers. During his 18-year career in the NBA, Howard became a one-time NBA champion and an eight-time All-Star. Howard also represented the USA at the Olympics in 2008, winning gold alongside the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
