The status quo for global corporations and media doing business in the PRC has been to bow to Chinese influences and censorship pressures to avoid consequences such as getting their products or company banned in the market. With an increased public awareness of this practice comes an increased risk of public backlash, with consequences ranging from public relations issues to mockery to potential boycotting and financial losses.
20 October 2019
A few weeks ago, ESPN’s use of a map of China featuring the Nine Dash Line may have gone unnoticed or passed off as a careless gaffe. The map, rarely seen outside of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), was featured on an October 9 broadcast about the fallout between the NBA and China over a (subsequently deleted) tweet by Houston Rocket’s general manager in support of the Hong Kong citizens who are resisting Beijing’s increased influence in the governance of Hong Kong en masse.
