Vietnam orders Netflix to remove Chinese TV drama over disputed map
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Wang Kai (left) and Seven Tan star in the Chinese TV series Flight To You.
PHOTO: FLIGHT TO YOU/WEIBO
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HANOI – Netflix and FPT Telecom have stopped offering the Chinese romantic TV drama, Flight To You, in Vietnam after Hanoi said it violated sovereignty laws by depicting a disputed map showing islands in the South China Sea islands as non-Vietnamese territory.
The culture ministry’s cinema department said on its website that even after FPT Telecom blurred the image of the map, the 39-episode drama features inappropriate content, breaking Vietnam’s sovereignty laws.
The department said its review showed that China’s nine-dash line – a controversial map suggesting the country’s sovereignty over a wide swathe of the contested South China Sea – is featured in various scenes in nine episodes. It gave the companies 24 hours from Monday to remove the show from platforms serving Vietnam.
The move marks the second time in a week Hanoi has sought to restrict foreign entertainment.
The South-east Asian nation banned the movie Barbie
Last week, the organiser of K-pop girl group Blackpink’s Vietnam concerts scheduled for Hanoi later this month apologised for publishing the map
Flight To You, starring Chinese actor Wang Kai and actress Seven Tan, is still available with Vietnamese narration on Huace Croton TV Vietnam’s YouTube account as of Monday morning.
FPT confirmed in an e-mailed statement that it had removed the Chinese series and said “we always fully comply with the regulations” when requested by the authorities.
A media representative for Netflix in Vietnam declined to comment. Bloomberg
