“The map in Barbie Land is a whimsical, childlike crayon drawing,” the studio said in a statement. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the real world. It was not intended to make any type of statement.”
Philippine senators urge ban on Barbie film over disputed South China Sea map
Barbie was originally slated to open in Vietnam on July 21, the same date as in the United States, according to state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper.
Vietnamese authorities objected to a scene showing a map that includes the so-called nine-dash line, the newspaper said. The U-shaped line is used on Chinese maps to illustrate China’s claims over vast areas of the South China Sea, including swathes of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.
“We do not grant license for the American movie Barbie to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line,” the newspaper reported, citing Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Cinema, a government body in charge of licensing and censoring foreign films.
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Barbie film banned in Vietnam over map of South China Sea
Barbie film banned in Vietnam over map of South China Sea
Barbie is the latest movie to be banned in Vietnam for depicting China’s nine-dash line, which was repudiated in an international arbitration ruling by a court in The Hague in 2016. China refuses to recognise the ruling.
This week, Vietnam also opened an investigation of the website of K-pop group Blackpink’s tour organiser, ahead of the group’s concert in Hanoi, over criticism from fans that it shows a map of the South China Sea with disputed boundaries.ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51ku6bD0miYrKGRZMCwwdOhnJqrpGKutLXAaJirrJmYuaZ7kmtpb3BkaXy4rdGnnKtlkqe8tHnCmqOlq12XrrOuyJ5kn6GcosBuv86uq6Flk522r62MrJyaZZ2WvW6vx6KjnaSZoLJur9GasKimXZm%2FosPIp55mmZapsrN51aKcraaRonqjrc0%3D