Netflix withdraws Chinese drama in Vietnam over nine-dash line map

HANOI – Vietnam ordered Netflix to remove Chinese television series Shine On Me from its streaming platform in the country over images depicting a map that Beijing uses to stake contested territorial claims in the South China Sea.

“The inspection found scenes showing the ‘nine-dash line’ map, which misrepresents and violates Vietnam’s national sovereignty,” the Department of Cinema under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in a statement on Jan 4.

In a statement, the streaming service said: “Following a written government demand, we have removed Shine On Me from Netflix in Vietnam.”

Underscoring

Vietnam’s sensitivity over China’s claims

, which have led to maritime clashes, the order was made even though the map is visible only in a college lecture scene in the dramatic series.

In 2023, Netflix had to stop offering another Chinese romantic drama, Flight To You, even though a similar map in that show was blurred when distributed in the country.

The South-east Asian nation previously

banned the movie Barbie

from cinemas over a scene showing the map and investigated Chinese milk tea brand Chagee and a brand of children’s toys for using images of the map.

The images appear in episode 25 of the series, according to the department, which gave the entertainment giant 24 hours to take the show down.

The authorities reclassified the 27-episode series as category C – which bans it from distribution – citing violations of Vietnam’s cinema law. It was no longer available to view online at 11am local time on Jan 5.

China claims more than 80 per cent of the South China Sea and backs this up with a 1947 map that shows vague dashes – the nine-dash line – looping down to a point about 1,770km south of Hainan island.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan claim parts of the same maritime area, with the various parties sometimes sparring over where the boundaries fall. BLOOMBERG