ESPN broadcast a graphic that indicated China owns Taiwan and other “disputed areas in the South China Sea,” Sports Business Daily reported.
The graphic was aired Oct. 9 on SportsCenter. “The Chinese government uses these maps inside their own country to show their ownership over these territories; they are not accepted internationally,” according to Sports Business Daily.
iMediaEthics has written to ESPN to ask if this was the only instance this map was used, why it was used and for further explanation. ESPN declined to comment.
Shanghaiist explained the graphic aired showed the “nine-dash line” which was rejected by the United Nations.
“China uses the nine-dash line, which dates back to 1947, to claim sovereignty over the vast majority of the South China Sea where Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Taiwan have competing claims.
“The issue came to a head in 2016 when a United Nations arbitral tribunal ruled that the line has no legal basis. A decision that China swiftly rejected and ignored.”