Updated December 14th, 2021 at 09:00 IST
German video game 'Conflict of Nations: WW3' labels China 'West Taiwan', Xinjiang 'Uyghur'
The video game made in Germany reportedly posted an advertisement on social media which showed a map and labelled China as 'West Taiwan'.
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Amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan, a German video game named 'Conflict of Nations: WW3' has grabbed everyone's attention. The video game reportedly posted an advertisement on Facebook which showed a map and labelled China as 'West Taiwan'. The advertisement was posted in December and many netizens have since shared and commented on it, reported Taiwan News.
The real-time multiplayer online game is apparently set in the 20th and 21st centuries and has plots surrounding a 'third world war' with many maps and scenarios to choose from. Up to 128 real opponents can participate in each match as they try to lead their countries in becoming the "dominating superpower on the planet."
However, since it went viral, the ad has disappeared and the map inside the game now shows countries' standard official names and boundaries. Apart from China being labelled as 'West Taiwan', the advertisement also showed the region of Xinjiang as an independent country called 'Uyghur' while Mongolia is labelled as 'China'. The game is developed by the German video game company Bytro Labs Here is one tweet showing the advertisement which has now been deleted.
German video game developer Bytro Labs posted an interesting ad on Facebook for Conflict of Nations: World War 3 a few days ago. The ad has since been removed but this is a screenshot.
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) December 9, 2021
1/2 pic.twitter.com/N8IME8srFZ
Many netizens had their own take after the advertisement surfaced online. Taiwan News reported that several people used terms like 'Mainland Taiwan', 'Taiwanese Beijing' and 'West Taiwan' to agitate Chinese nationalists, stooges, censors and trolls. Back in May, Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley tweeted a map with China labelled as "West Taiwan" that quickly went viral. The use of the term 'West Taiwan' to mock China has increased since January 2020 when Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen asserted that Beijing needs to face the reality that Taiwan is already an independent country.
China-Taiwan tensions
China and Taiwan have been engaged in a tussle as Beijing claims full sovereignty over the island nation, a thriving democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. Beijing continues to claim Taiwan even as the latter has been governed separately for more than seven decades.
On the other hand, Taipei has countered Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies and rivals of China, mainly the United States. Beijing has repeatedly opposed US and Taiwan ties and has constantly threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. Moreover, the US has supported Taiwan by maintaining close ties and providing it with military assets. On the other hand, Taiwan also enjoys support from the United States. On June 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged complete reunification with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to smash any attempts at formal independence for the island.
With ANI inputs
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Published December 14th, 2021 at 08:42 IST
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