Gap apologizes to China over map that omits Taiwan

BEIJING (AFP) — US clothing retailer Gap has apologized to China over a T-shirt with a map showing the mainland but omitting Taiwan, becoming the latest foreign firm to run afoul of Beijing’s policy on the self-ruling island.

China, which considers Taiwan a rebel province awaiting reunification, has taken airlines, hotels and other companies to task in recent months for listing the island as a separate country on their websites.

The Gap shirt, which was sold in overseas markets, features a map of China, but Taiwan does not appear to the southeast of the country, according to a photo of the company’s online store posted on the Twitter account of the official People’s Daily newspaper.

The state-run Global Times newspaper said the map also omitted South Tibet and the South China Sea, and that the issue sparked a social media frenzy in China after a photo was posted of the shirt at an outlet store in Canada.

Hundreds of people complained on Gap’s official account on China’s Weibo microblogging website, the daily said.

The US company issued its apology on Weibo late Monday, saying it “respects the integrity of China’s sovereignty and territory.”

“We are terribly sorry for this unintentional mistake. We are doing internal checks to correct the mistake as soon as possible,” Gap said.