11-7-2023 (HANOI) Netflix Inc. and FPT Telecom have halted the availability of the Chinese romantic TV drama “Flight to You” in Vietnam. This decision comes after the Vietnamese government stated that the show violated sovereignty laws by featuring a disputed map that depicted islands in the South China Sea as non-Vietnamese territory.
The cinema department of the culture ministry published a statement on its website, asserting that despite FPT Telecom blurring the map image, the drama’s 39 episodes still contained inappropriate content that infringed upon Vietnam’s sovereignty laws.
According to the department’s review, the controversial “nine-dash line” map, which asserts Chinese sovereignty over a significant portion of the disputed South China Sea, appeared in various scenes across nine episodes of the drama.
As a result, the companies were given a 24-hour notice starting from Monday to remove the show from platforms serving Vietnam. This marks the second occasion within a week in which Hanoi has taken steps to restrict foreign entertainment.
Last week, Vietnam banned the movie “Barbie” and last year, the film “Uncharted,” both due to their inclusion of disputed maps of the South China Sea. Additionally, the organizer of Blackpink’s upcoming concerts in Hanoi issued an apology for featuring the map on one of their websites and pledged to remove it.
As of Monday morning, the drama “Flight to You” with Vietnamese narration was still accessible on Huace Croton TV Vietnam’s YouTube account.
FPT confirmed through an emailed statement that it complied with the government’s request and removed the Chinese movie, asserting that they always fully comply with regulations when required by government authorities.
A spokesperson from Netflix confirmed that the series was removed from its Vietnam platform following contact from the country’s regulators. However, they clarified that the show remains available on their service in other markets.
