Dior apologises after Taiwan excluded from map of China, sparking latest online backlash

French luxury brand apologises after presentation leaves Taiwan off map of China, causing outrage among Chinese internet users

Christian Dior China says in Weibo statement it ‘abides by the one-China principle’

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Dior says it “always abides by the one-China principle and strictly upholds China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 1:05pm, 17 Oct 2019Updated: 8:36am, 18 Oct 2019

French luxury brand Christian Dior apologised early on Thursday after a company presentation to university students excluded Taiwan from Chinese territory, the latest example of a foreign company running afoul of Beijing’s official policy on the island.

The company’s Shanghai office issued a statement at 2.15am local time to Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, in which it said one of its employees “mistakenly described and explained” Taiwan’s position on the map, adding it had launched an investigation and the mistake would never be repeated.

The fashion powerhouse said it “always abides by the one-China principle and strictly upholds China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “cherishes the Chinese people’s feelings”.

“Dior is a friend of China and celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China with 1.4 billion Chinese people,” the company said.

Christian Dior found itself in hot water after it used a map of China that did not include Taiwan. Photo: Handout

Dior issued the statement after an employee used a map of China that left out Taiwan in a “Dream in Dior” presentation to an internship programme campus talk on Wednesday.

During the presentation, a student questioned why the self-ruled island was not included in the map, according to a video widely circulated on Chinese social media. At first, the employee explained Taiwan was too small to be shown. But after it was pointed out that the much smaller Hainan island was included, the employee explained that Taiwan and Hong Kong were only included in Dior’s presentations on “Greater China”.

The explanation sparked fury among Chinese internet users.

“Not a single part of China should be missing!” said one comment on Weibo.

“That employee should be fired immediately,” a second read.