An ad from McDonald's Taiwan that sparked a row about whether it showed support for the country's independence from China has been withdrawn.

The commercial, broadcast on YouTube, showed a student's exam admission ticket stating her nationality as Taiwanese. She drops the ticket on the street and it's run over by a truck, before being washed clean by a water sprayer. The ad then rewinds and the student is shown eating an Egg McMuffin, known as a Man Fu Bao — which reportedly has a similar pronunciation in Mandarin to "full of good luck."

People in China protested against the ad online, accusing the company of supporting an independent Taiwan, according to a report on the Focus Taiwan website on Saturday.

McDonald's Taiwan said the ad promoted its Egg McMuffin and aimed to boost students' morale, while McDonald's China said it supported the "One China" principle. "We regret about the ad which had stirred up such an unnecessary misunderstanding," McDonald's in China said on its Weibo page, according to Focus Taiwan. "We always hold a solid 'One China' stance and we are determined to continue to support China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."