Netflix Removes Chinese Series Following Vietnam's Objection Over Controversial Map

Wed Jan 07 2026 20:52:24 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In response to Vietnam's demand, Netflix has suspended the streaming of the Chinese drama 'Shine On Me' after an episode featuring a disputed map sparked controversy. The banned content included the nine-dash line, which is rejected by Vietnam as a violation of its sovereignty.

Netflix has taken down 'Shine On Me,' a Chinese drama, from its platform in Vietnam following a complaint from the Vietnamese government regarding a map that includes the contentious nine-dash line. This line signifies China's claims in the South China Sea, which Vietnam asserts infringes upon its territorial rights.

Netflix has pulled a Chinese drama series from its Vietnam platform after Hanoi objected to an episode featuring a map with contested territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The 27-episode romance drama Shine on Me includes images of the so-called nine-dash line which Vietnam has condemned as 'inaccurate' and 'infringing upon national sovereignty.'

China uses the line in its maps to demarcate its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Vietnam is one of many countries that object to these claims.

Vietnam's culture ministry issued a demand for the series to be removed on January 3 and gave Netflix 24 hours to comply.

A BBC check on Tuesday found it could no longer be viewed on Netflix's Vietnam platform.

The disputed map appears several times in episode 25 of Shine On Me, in a scene about China's solar power potential.

The show's main characters attend a lecture where a map of China, which shows part of the nine-dash line, is projected onto an auditorium screen.

Shine On Me is popular within China and other territories, ranking among Netflix's Top 10 shows in Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam before it was pulled.

Beijing has not officially commented on the ban, although its state-run newspaper Global Times published an article on Tuesday urging Hanoi to 'separate cultural exchanges from [the] South China Sea issue.'

In recent years, China has increasingly asserted its claims of sovereignty over several land parcels and their adjacent waters in the South China Sea, despite complaints from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei.

China argues that various pieces of evidence, from pottery shards to navigational guides used by Chinese fishermen, back up its claims of historical sovereignty.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled against Chinese claims in the South China Sea, but Beijing did not recognize the judgement.

Hanoi has actively ruled over the Paracels and the Spratlys archipelagoes since the 17th Century and claims to possess documents that substantiate their sovereignty over these territories.

This situation highlights Vietnam's sensitivity to territorial disputes, particularly concerning representations of the nine-dash line in media.

Between 2019 and 2024, Vietnam filed eight written takedown requests with Netflix, according to reports from the streaming platform.

In 2023, Vietnam ordered Netflix to remove another Chinese drama, Flight to You, for similar reasons.

The authorities in Vietnam have shown a pattern of banning productions that feature the nine-dash line, including a ban on the Hollywood film Barbie in 2023 and DreamWorks' 2016 animated film Abominable.