German video game ad labels China as 'West Taiwan'

Taipei: A German video game company Bytro Labs has posted an online advertisement for a video game showing a map labeling China as 'West Taiwan', Xinjiang region as 'Uyghur' and Mongolia as 'China'.

Earlier this month, a Facebook advertisement for Conflict of Nations: World War 3 surfaced showing a map depicting most of China as 'West Taiwan'.

The other changes in the map of Asia-Pacific region made for the military-themed strategy game include Nepal labeled as 'Georgia'.

The advertisement, which had appeared earlier this month, was shared and commented upon by several netizens on December 3. However, the advertisement later disappeared and the map in the game itself has countries' standard official names and boundaries.

According to Taiwan News report, the real-time massively multiplayer online game is set in the 20th and 21st centuries and simulates a third world war with multiple maps and scenarios to choose from.

The use of 'West Taiwan' to mock China has become popular since January 2020 Taipei President Tsai Ing-wen urged Beijing to face the reality that Taiwan is an independent country.

Since then, the netizens have used terms like 'Mainland Taiwan', 'Taiwanese Beijing' and 'West Taiwan' to mock China. (UNI)