Samsung embroiled in 'One China' row after K-pop star pulls out

world's number one smartphone maker Samsung Electronics became latest global brand to face criticism on Wednesday for damaging China's "territorial integrity", with a Chinese K-pop star ending an endorsement contract.

row broke out after Chinese viewers ticed that South Korean tech giant offers different langu versions of its website for users in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan - in English, simplified Chinese and tritional Chinese.

All three appear as choices in a list of 'countries'.

Beijing is very sensitive about anything it perceives as portraying semi-automous Hong Kong and Macau or self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan - which it views as as a renege province awaiting reunification - as separate countries.

Hong Kong has become a particularly thorny issue for Beijing in recent weeks with financial hub plunged into months of pro-democracy protests.

Chinese K-pop star Zhang Yixing - popularly kwn as Lay, from boyband Exo - on August 13 cancelled his agreement with Samsung for it allegedly "hurting national feelings of Chinese compatriots" by maintaining separate websites.

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hashtag "#ZhangYixing Ditches Samsung#" went viral on China's Twitter-like Weibo with his cancellation tice being viewed 840 million times in 20 hours after it was posted.

"Its act of blurring sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country has seriously hurt national feelings of our compatriots, which we strongly condemn," Zhang's Chinese ncy said in a statement on its official social media account on Weibo.

Zhang h been a Samsung Electronics brand ambassor in China since December. firm declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

move comes days after several luxury retailers apologised for labelling semi-automous cities of Hong Kong and Macau and self-ruled island of Taiwan as separate countries.

Austrian jewellery company Swarovski apologised Tuesday for "hurting feelings" of Chinese people after calling Hong Kong a separate country on its website.

Luxury brands Versace, Coach, and Givenchy also all apologised this week for making perceived affronts to China's national sovereignty with T-shirts listing Hong Kong and Taiwan as separate countries.

row also cost m support of ir Chinese brand ambassors as companies scrambled to minimise any potential dam in lucrative mainland market. 

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