Foreign Ministry chides Mbappe over Mao comments

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday said that hurting the feelings of the country's people would meet "unanimous rejection" after football star Kylian Mbappe's comments about former leader Mao Zedong. The French footballer's recent comments, in which he appeared to mock the founding leader of the People's Republic of China, resulted in two major Chinese brands dropping their sponsorship deals with the player. "We have seen the relevant reports. Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with unanimous rejection from all sectors of Chinese society," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular briefing. "Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments," drinks giant Dongpeng said in a statement, adding that "with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe". Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, also cut ties with the Real Madrid forward. Mbappe apologised for his comment in a statement put out later on Tuesday. "My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset. "This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect...