Popular TV show retracts inaccurate map of China

The Ministry of Natural Resources on Thursday ordered an investigation into how the hit TV romance Go Go Squid! featured a map incorrectly showing China's borders.

The TV series, focusing on groups of young people in cybersecurity competitions, used the map in an episode identifying where the final round of an international cybersecurity tournament will be held.

According to the ministry, mistakes on the map used in the teleplay include that it incorrectly delineated the boundaries of the southern areas of the Tibet autonomous region, and the colors for Taiwan and Hainan islands were different from other parts of China.

The dotted line to indicate Chinese islands in the South China Sea was also missing.

The problematic map, in a scene lasting 15 seconds, was first found by netizens as the episode was aired on Wednesday.

The ministry noticed the report and issued a statement on its website saying that the map had not been submitted for official review and approval before the show aired last month.

So far, the map has been removed from the TV romance at video platforms such as Tencent Video.

Its leading actor Li Xian and actress Yang Zi also responded on Weibo by defending the integrity of China's territory.

Some State media, including People's Daily, posted correct maps with the hashtag "Right way to open Chinese map" on Weibo and called on people to learn China's territory better.

The ministry announced on its website that a nationwide program will be held at the end of this month to educate the public about national territory and the map of China, as well as how to use the map correctly.