China Furious After Seeing What US Olympics Broadcaster Aired to the World: 'Hurt the Dignity and Emotions of the Chinese People'
China stomped its foot in a fit of diplomatic pique on Saturday after NBC did not include Taiwan in its map of the communist nation.
Since 1949, Taiwan has been the home of the nationalist government that took refuge on the island off the coast of mainland China after the Communist government of Mao Zedong took power.
China insists that Taiwan is rightfully its territory, a claim Taiwan rejects and can oppose thanks to decades of U.S. arms sales that keep communist China at bay.
The Chinese consulate in New York claimed the omission of Taiwan “hurt the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people,” according to NBC.
First “hurt feelings” transgression of the Tokyo Olympics happened halfway through the opening ceremony, as NBC uses an “incomplete map” of China. pic.twitter.com/TBcSUIAeuE
— Eric Fish (@ericfish85) July 24, 2021
“The map is an expression of the national territory, symbolizing national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the consulate’s statement said, according to Bloomberg.
“We urge NBC to recognize the serious nature of this problem and take measures to correct the error,” the statement said.
China’s state-controlled Global Times newspaper also criticized NBC for not including Taiwan on its map.
An editorial in the Global Times criticized what it called “dirty political tricks.”
“For a long time, NBC has been vicious to China and some people have criticized it on Twitter,” the editorial said.
The editorial also invoked a dustup that took place when, as Bloomberg reported, Japanese deputy prime minister Taro Aso said earlier this month that a Chinese takeover of Taiwan would be an existential threat to Japan.
“Chinese netizens are highly aware of the possibility that Japan might make an issue of the Taiwan question. Their worries are totally reasonable. Japan recently has often made out-of-line remarks over the Taiwan question, and we need to be very vigilant against it,” the editorial stated.
“We hope experts on Olympic issues can actively join in to assess the various suspicious acts pointed out by netizens in a timely manner. A joint effort is needed to combat Japanese forces who are attempting to take advantage of the Olympics to engage in political conspiracies. The Olympics is a holy stage. All dirty tricks need to be kicked out of it.”
“hurt the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people”
The “Chinese people” are very sensitive. Also, country maps are supposed to include parts of oceans now?https://t.co/YQK9rRSUH5
— Baker Owens (@tjpman) July 24, 2021
China’s testiness over showing Taiwan as its territory is not new, according to Reuters.
Two years ago, the retailer Gap apologized when China made an issue out of a T-shirt that showed China’s outline.
Like the NBC map, the Gap did not include Taiwan or China’s disputed claims in the South China Sea.
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