China has banned the British computer game Football Manager 2005, saying it violated Chinese law by referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong and other regions claimed by China as separate countries.
A notice on the Culture Ministry's Web site said the game contained "content harmful to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity ... [that] seriously violates Chinese law and has been strongly protested by our nation's gamers."
Fines
The game, launched Nov. 5, is not sold in China and has no Chinese-language version.
But government departments have been ordered to search for the game online and in computer software markets, cyber cafes and newsstands that sell pirated software and to seize any copies found, the notice said.
Outlets providing the game can be fined up to 30,000 yuan (US$3,600) and have their licenses pulled. Internet service providers that fail to prevent subscribers from downloading the game can be fined up to 15,000 yuan (US$1,800) and lose their licenses.
There was no immediate comment from game developers, Sports Interactive Ltd. or publisher Sega Europe, which claims the game as its biggest-ever seller.
The ban underscores China's extreme sensitivity over any perceived slight to its national prestige amid rising global economic and political clout.
References
China claims self-governing Taiwan and recovered Hong Kong from Britain in 1997.
The Culture Ministry said the game also contained references to Tibet, which Chinese troops occupied in 1951, and Macau, a former Portuguese colony handed over to China in 1999.
Foreign companies making everything from cellphones to packaged food have run into similar trouble for allegedly violating Chinese sensitivities.
`Disrespectful'
China this week banned a Nike television commercial showing LeBron James, the reigning NBA rookie of the year, in a mock video game setting battling and defeating a kung fu master, as well as two women in traditional Chinese attire and a pair of dragons.
The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television said the advertisement violated national dignity and was disrespectful and blasphemous toward Chinese culture.
It did not say why the advertisement was considered offensive. But communist officials are sensitive about the use of Chinese cultural symbols by Westerners and might have been especially angered that the Nike advertisement showed a foreigner winning the fight.
The Nike ad has also been pulled from window displays in Nike's Chinese outlets.
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
Taiwan is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) for the first time, welcoming more than 400 young linguists from 43 nations to National Taiwan University (NTU). Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said at the opening ceremony yesterday that language passes down knowledge and culture, and influences the way humankind thinks and understands the world. Taiwan is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, 16 indigenous languages and Taiwan Sign Language all used, Chu said. In addition, Taiwan promotes multilingual education, emphasizes the cultural significance of languages and supports the international mother language movement, he said. Taiwan has long participated
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can