Jul 24, 2021 - Sports

China says NBC displayed "incomplete map" during opening ceremony

Erin Doherty

China walks into the Olympics opening ceremony. — Team China walk in the parade during the Opening Ceremony. Photo: Xavier Laine/Getty Images

China denounced NBC for displaying what the nation called an "incomplete map" of its territory during the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, Reuters reports.

Driving the news: The map was shown on-air as Chinese athletes entered the opening ceremony and did not include Taiwan nor the South China Sea.

"[The display] hurt the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people," the Chinese consulate in New York said in a post on its official Weibo social media platform on Saturday, per Reuters.
"We urge NBC to recognise the serious nature of this problem and take measures to correct the error," the Chinese consulate said.
Comcast's NBC Universal, which has broadcasting rights to the Olympic Games, did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

The big picture: Over the past several years, the Chinese government has increasingly sought to control how international organizations and companies refer to Taiwan, Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian reports.

Last year, the Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center changed how it refers to Taiwan, instead changing the label to “Taipei and environs."

Go deeper: Johns Hopkins coronavirus map changes "Taiwan" to "Taipei and environs"

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China says NBC displayed "incomplete map" during opening ceremony

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