Tencent, the parent company of WeChat, has apologised for a technical fault which led to the appearance of American flag emoticons on the screens of WeChat users in China.
A section of Chinese WeChat users objected to the inclusion of the American flag whenever they typed the word ‘civil rights’ during their chats on the app.
The new feature was reportedly designed to commemorate Martin Luther King Day in the US but, due a technical glitch, American flag emoticons appeared on Chinese mobiles as well.
South China Morning Post cited Tencent as saying: "Due to some backstage setting errors, it has been available to all WeChat users."
"We apologize for any misunderstandings caused."
The company also clarified that no political message was intended.
Meanwhile, Chinese leaders slammed Tencent on social media for being biased towards US public holidays while ignoring ‘patriotic’ Chinese holidays.
The function has stopped working for users based in mainland China and Hong Kong, reported The Wall Street Journal.
