The National Geographic Society (NGS) has acknowledged that denoting the Hoang Sa archipelago with the Chinese name and the word “ China ” without further explanation can be misleading or misinterpreted.
The Society made the acknowledgment in a press release issued on March 16, explaining its posting of the online world map on which it designates the Chinese name of “Xisha Qundao” with the word “ China ” in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago of Vietnam at http://www.natgeomaps.com .
“We have carefully reviewed the situation and recognized that simply denoting the archipelago with the Chinese name and the word ‘ China ’ in parenthesis without further explanation can be misleading and misinterpreted,” the press release said.
The NGS said that in its regional and other maps of sufficient scale, it specifically recognises and designates the alternative Vietnamese name “Hoang Sa” and the traditional name “ Paracel Islands ” for the archipelago.
On March 13, Vietnamese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga claimed that “the world map denoting ‘Paracel Is. China ’ published by the National Geographic is wrong” and requested that the society correct this mistake.
In its press release, the NGS said in the future it will either provide the additional explanation that is included on its other maps, or will omit any designation.
The press release was posted on the NGS’s website./.
The Society made the acknowledgment in a press release issued on March 16, explaining its posting of the online world map on which it designates the Chinese name of “Xisha Qundao” with the word “ China ” in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago of Vietnam at http://www.natgeomaps.com .
“We have carefully reviewed the situation and recognized that simply denoting the archipelago with the Chinese name and the word ‘ China ’ in parenthesis without further explanation can be misleading and misinterpreted,” the press release said.
The NGS said that in its regional and other maps of sufficient scale, it specifically recognises and designates the alternative Vietnamese name “Hoang Sa” and the traditional name “ Paracel Islands ” for the archipelago.
On March 13, Vietnamese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga claimed that “the world map denoting ‘Paracel Is. China ’ published by the National Geographic is wrong” and requested that the society correct this mistake.
In its press release, the NGS said in the future it will either provide the additional explanation that is included on its other maps, or will omit any designation.
The press release was posted on the NGS’s website./.
