Gap apologises for selling T-shirt with ‘incorrect’ map of China
US clothes firm sold garment omitting areas of Tibet, Taiwan and the South China Sea from map printed on the front
US clothing retailer Gap Inc has apologised for selling a T-shirt which it said had an incorrect map of China because it was missing areas of Tibet and Taiwan.
The apology came after a person posted pictures of the T-shirt on Chinese social media network Weibo, saying that Chinese territories, including south Tibet, the island of Taiwan and the South China Sea, were omitted from the map.
The user said the photo of the T-shirt was taken at an outlet in Canada.
“Gap Inc respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We’ve learned that a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas markets failed to reflect the correct map of China. We sincerely apologise for this unintentional error,” it said in a statement posted on its Chinese social media account on Monday.
The company said it would now implement “rigorous reviews” to prevent a repeat of the mistake.