n his recorded apology today, Cena insisted that he "made a mistake" before professing his love for China.
"Hi China, I'm John Cena. I'm in the middle of Fast and Furious 9 promotions. I'm doing a lot of interviews. I made a mistake in one of my interviews," he says in the clip.
"I made one mistake. I have to say something very, very, very important now. I love and respect China and Chinese people. I'm very, very sorry about my mistake."
He continued: "I apologise, I apologise, I'm very sorry. You must understand that I really love, really respect China and the Chinese people. My apologies. See you."
Cena appeared stony-faced in the apology video. Photo / Twitter
Despite Cena's apology, some Chinese citizens were still furious he stopped short of saying Taiwan was a part of China.
"He still didn't say that Taiwan is China. Is it so difficult?," one user wrote under Cena's post.
"I don't understand why the Chinese people should be so tolerant to him, who has a vague political stance while profiting from Chinese people," another wrote.
"Please say 'Taiwan is part of China' in Chinese, otherwise we will not accept," demanded a third commenter.
However, many viewers in the West have reacted differently, labelling the apology "bizarre".
Some even compared the apology to like being in a "hostage video".
Cena isn't the only famous American to have mistakenly referred to Taiwan as a sovereign entity. In December 2016, then-President-elect Donald Trump infamously took a call from the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Tsai Ing-wen.
He then got on social media and thanked "the President of Taiwan" for speaking with him. This angered the People's Republic of China, because it does not recognise Taiwan's Republic of China as a functioning government.
