Tencent apologizes for sex slave emojis

Technology giant Tencent has apologized after users of its QQ instant-messaging service were found sharing emojis made with pictures of wartime sex slaves.

The emojis - using images taken from Twenty Two, a newly released documentary about "comfort women" during World War II who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese army - are overlaid with phrases in Chinese such as "I am lost" and "I am wronged".

Outraged netizens complained to the company, which responded on Tuesday by saying all of the offending emojis had been removed from the platform.