Olivia Yang
Olivia is an editor striving to cover arts and culture along with community engagement and animal rights.
What you need to know
Chinese netizens say 'the mistake' was 'definitely not an issue of carelessness.'
Chinese television station Hunan TV has sparked outrage on the Internet after "failing" to show Taiwan and the disputed Diaoyu Islands as part of Chinese territory.
In the finale of the “2016 Chinese Bridge; Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students (《漢語橋》)” aired on Oct. 9 on Hunan TV, netizens noticed that during a speech by one of the contestants, a map of China appearing on the large screen behind the contestant did not include Taiwan and the Diaoyu Islands as part of Chinese territory.
Chinese netizens have also commented about the incident on Weibo.
“Taiwan is inseparable from China. […] This is not only a problem with what appeared in the TV program, but more importantly with the political ideology behind the program’s preparation and crew,” one user wrote.
Another comment said that while “the mistake” could have been avoided, surprisingly no one noticed it. It said there are four stages a program goes through before being aired: checking the material, recording the show, post-production, and reviewing the show. It was “definitely not an issue of carelessness,” it said.
The shot with the map has been removed from videos of the show on the Internet.
This was not the first time Hunan TV made a similar “mistake.”
In an episode of Chinese reality show “Where Are We Going, Dad? (《爸爸去哪兒》)”, aired on Sept. 19, 2014, Taiwan was likewise not included as Chinese territory on a map aired during the show.
China closely monitors people in the entertainment industry who may express "pro-Taiwan independence" ideology.
In March, Taiwanese film director Wu Nien-chen (吳念真) had to postpone the "Human Condition 3 (《人間條件3》)" theater tour in China due to “political sensitivities." In July, Taiwanese actor Leon Dai (戴立忍) was removed from a film project in China.
There have been rumors about the Chinese government asking performing artists from Taiwan and Hong Kong to sign a declaration vowing not to participate in various “separatist” activities to “split the country.”
First Editor: Edward White
Second Editor: J. Michael Cole