China Attacks NBC Olympics ‘Dirty Tricks,’ but Then Airs One of Its Own

Hell hath no fury like an insecure dictatorship scorned by a map.

On Friday, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad opened in Tokyo after a one-year coronavirus-induced delay. There were plenty of storylines to be had at the opening ceremony: The pandemic, the lack of spectators, the cost of the contests to Japan.

For China, one of the headlines was the fact NBC didn’t show Taiwan as being part of its territory.

As Reuters reported, this was the map NBC Universal used as Chinese athletes entered during the opening ceremony:

First “hurt feelings” transgression of the Tokyo Olympics happened halfway through the opening ceremony, as NBC uses an “incomplete map” of China. pic.twitter.com/TBcSUIAeuE

— Eric Fish (@ericfish85) July 24, 2021

Moments later,  journalist and author Eric Fish wrote in a tweet, NBC’s Savannah Guthrie noted China was under “international scrutiny from human rights organizations and some primarily Western governments, mainly focused on its actions in Hong Kong, treatment of minorities’ populations, the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.”

The second happened moments later when NBC commentator Savannah Guthrie talked about how China is under “international scrutiny from human right organizations” and Western governments for HK, Uighur, and minority treatment as the Chinese team walked out. pic.twitter.com/iwrDT7zpyM

— Eric Fish (@ericfish85) July 24, 2021

Guess which one provoked the ire of the Chinese consulate in New York, which accused NBC of “violating the Olympics [sic] Charter spirits [sic]?”

Using a wrong map of #China is a real lack of common sense. Politicizing sports and violating the Olympics Charter spirits will only do harm to the #Olympics Games and the relationship between the #Chinese and the #US people. @NBCSports @SavannahGuthrie pic.twitter.com/sP6AGRXLZI

— Chinese Consulate General in New York (@ChinaCG_NYC) July 24, 2021

The consulate claimed in a statement that the map “hurt the dignity and emotions of the Chinese people” because it included neither Taiwan nor the South China Sea.

China views Taiwan as a breakaway renegade province that will eventually be brought under Beijing’s heel. As for the South China Sea, China is involved in territorial disputes with a number of countries there, particularly over Beijing’s military expansion.

“We urge NBC to recognize the serious nature of this problem and take measures to correct the error,” the consulate said in its Saturday statement.

The Olympic Charter, by the by, is a document codifying the rules of the Olympics. The parts the consulate general was presumably referring to have to do with the non-politicization of the games, which obviously don’t extend to the broadcasters.

Furthermore, the Olympic Games already goes out of its way to avoid the Taiwan question as much as possible. Athletes at the Games compete under the name of “Chinese Taipei” instead of their country’s actual name.

The Global Times, one of the chief English-language propaganda outlets for the Chinese Communist Party, also attacked NBC’s map.

“When NBC was broadcasting the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games, it used an incomplete map of China,” a Saturday editorial stated.