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Controversial McDonald's Taiwan YouTube ad removed

January 22, 2019

McDonald's has apologized and removed a December Egg McMuffin ad from YouTube after a two-second clip of video in it sparked a Chinese protest by those who said it supported Taiwan's independence from China.

The clip that set off the international incident aired only in Taiwan on the social media channel and focused on a student's exam ticket that showed her nationality as Taiwan, according to CNBC. 

Though McDonald's Taiwan said it was just a promotion for its breakfast sandwich, China and many of its citizens claimed it promoted the island's independence from China— long a hot-button issue, with China viewing Taiwan as part of that sprawling Asian nation. But just last week Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen challenged that idea, saying the island would not bow to pressure from China.

Neither McDonald's China nor McDonald's Taiwan responded for further comments.