Sensitive souls: the map that supposedly hurt the feelings of 1.4 billion Chinese

In an NBC Universal broadcast of the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics, an “incomplete map” of China was displayed during the arrival of its athletes, according to Chinese authorities. Although they did not indicate what exactly was missing, their intent was clear. Neither Taiwan nor the South China Sea were part of the map.

In a statement on its Weibo social media platform, the Chinese consulate in New York said the map “hurt the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people.” The Global Times, another Chinese government outlet, was also critical.

While the decision to leave Taiwan off the map may have had political undertones given the recent frosty relations between the United States and China, there was certainly another reason. After all, Taiwan has its own team at the Olympics under the awkward compromise name of “Chinese Taipei.” NBC may have decided that having Taiwan appear on two maps could confuse some of the geographically challenged Americans in its audience.

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