China criticizes NBC for not showing Taiwan, South China Sea in Olympic map

China is criticizing NBC Universal for not showing Taiwan and the South China Sea in a map of China the network displayed during the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The Chinese consulate in New York posted on its Weibo social media page that NBC displayed an “incomplete map” and “hurt the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people,” Reuters reported.

“We urge NBC to recognise the serious nature of this problem and take measures to correct the error,” the post stated.

The Global Times newspaper, a state-run paper in China, also expressed its displeasure at the map.

First “hurt feelings” transgression of the Tokyo Olympics happened halfway through the opening ceremony, as NBC uses an “incomplete map” of China. pic.twitter.com/TBcSUIAeuE

— Eric Fish (@ericfish85) July 24, 2021

NBC Universal has the U.S. broadcasting rights for the Tokyo Olympics. The Hill has reached out to the company for comment.

The South China Sea is a disputed territory that China claims as their own while the Biden administration said it supports a 2016 tribunal ruling that stated China had no claim on the area. 

President Biden’s Navy secretary nominee, Carlos Del Toro, also recently said the U.S. should protect Taiwan from China.

“It’s incredibly important to defend Taiwan in every way possible,” Del Toro said during his confirmation hearing. “It takes a holistic view of our national commitment to Taiwan. We should be focused on providing Taiwan with as much self-defensive measures as humanly possible.

“And if confirmed to the Navy, I am going to be exclusively focused on the China threat and exclusively focused in moving our maritime strategy forward in order to protect Taiwan and all of our national security interests in the Indo-Pacific theater,” he added.