OPPO India faces backlash for disrespecting national flag; company responds, terminates worker [Updated]

Update on March 29, 2017:

OPPO India has responded to the anti-national incident that took place Monday, which quickly escalated on a national level through protests and social media discussions. The Chinese smartphone maker released a statement to its partners acknowledging the incident, and assured of a better management of employees. The Chinese official who disrespected the Indian national flag has since been terminated, the company said.

Below is the full statement released by OPPO India's CEO Mike Wang on Wednesday:

"Based on the recent incident and after thorough investigation with the concerned authorities, we have found that at 3PM, March 27, Indian local time, a Chinese worker discarded the Indian flag from the table during regular external material check.

This triggered dissatisfaction amongst our employees which also led to extensive media discussion.

We condemn and deeply regret the individual misconduct of this stuff. OPPO has ZERO tolerance for matters such as this, and in line this Chinese worker has been terminated. OPPO has the highest respect and regard for Indian laws and regulations, for Indian customs and culture.

On March 28 at 11 am, we have obtained a mutual understanding after negotiation. The business operation was not affected.

We will further strengthen the management of employees, and resolutely put an end to such incidents.

Thank you for your understanding and constant support!"

Original story...

OPPO India is on the receiving end of a major backlash after a company official reportedly tore and dumped the national flag in a dustbin. The incident spread like wildfire, with protesters gathering outside OPPO's Noida office on Tuesday and stern criticism on social media.

As of this writing, OPPO India said that it is "investigating the situation" and an update will be shared after verifying all the facts. In the meantime, OPPO has become an "anti-national" target.

International Business Times, India, has reached out to OPPO for a comment, and we'll update the story as soon as there's a response. Currently, there's no confirmation or any specifics on the details of the incident. It also remains unclear who carried out such a behavior.

Twitter has erupted with posts, criticizing the Chinese smartphone maker for the indecent act and calling out to ban OPPO products. Below are some of the tweets from people commenting their views about the incident.

 The incident follows a similar backlash involving Amazon Canada, which had listed doormats with Indian flag printed on them. The issue escalated quickly, and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj demanded Amazon Canada to remove the product listing and issue an apology for disrespecting the national flag.