--- description: Vietnam aggressively polices all references to China’s so-called nine-dash-line, cracking down on navigation apps to Hollywood movies. The popular girl band is scheduled to perform in Hanoi July 29 and 30. title: Blackpink Concert Organizer Apologizes Over China Map Controversy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec9dff30c21f56d3/698a3e6de6e84abf942b0452/Blackpink-Concert.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Vietnam](/tag/vietnam/) ## Vietnam Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Vietnam Concert Organizer Apologizes After Blackpink Entangled in China Map Controversy ## Video: Exiled Hong Kong Activists React to Their Million-Dollar Bounties [Watch (HLS stream): Exiled Hong Kong Activists React to Their Million-Dollar Bounties](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CXbxg0Nd.m3u8) (3:16)  _Published 2023-07-05. Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday that a group of exiled pro-democracy activists will be “pursued for life.” Police announced a day earlier a reward of HK$1 million (a little over $125,000) in return for any information that could lead to the arrest of any of the eight political dissidents—which includes three former lawmakers—who were accused of violating the Chinese enclave’s controversial National Security Law._ by [Mai Ngoc Chau and Linh Vu Nguyen / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Mai Ngoc Chau and Linh Vu Nguyen / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 7, 2023 3:45 AM CUT  Blackpink members Lisa, Rosé, Jennie, and Jisoo perform onstage in Los Angeles on Nov. 20, 2022. Blackpink members Lisa, Rosé, Jennie, and Jisoo perform onstage in Los Angeles on Nov. 20, 2022.Rich Polk—Penske Media/Getty Images by [Mai Ngoc Chau and Linh Vu Nguyen / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Mai Ngoc Chau and Linh Vu Nguyen / Bloomberg Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 7, 2023 3:45 AM CUT The organizer of [Blackpink](https://time.com/entertainer-of-the-year-2022-blackpink/ "undefined")’s Vietnam concerts scheduled for Hanoi later this month apologized for publishing China’s controversial South China Sea territorial map on one of its websites and pledged to remove it, Vietnam National Television VTV reported. Brian Chow, chief executive of iMe Entertainment Group Asia, said the company would change the image of the map, VnExpress news website reported. The website of iMe was inaccessible Thursday evening. **Read More:** [_Just Where Exactly Did China Get the South China Sea Nine-Dash Line From?_](https://time.com/4412191/nine-dash-line-9-south-china-sea/ "undefined") --- ### More from TIME --- The chief inspector of Vietnam’s culture ministry Le Thanh Liem said the regulator was working to verify the incident first reported on social media and to find a solution, VietnamPlus news website reported. Vietnam aggressively polices all references to China’s so-called nine-dash-line map in the country, cracking down on navigation apps to Hollywood movies. Vietnam earlier this week announced it was banning the movie _Barbie_ from its cinemas due to a scene that shows the map. **Read More:** [_Barbie Is Just the Latest Hollywood Film to Get Caught in the Crossfire of Asian Geopolitics_](https://time.com/6292066/barbie-ban-nine-dash-line-china/ "undefined") China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea and backs up its claim with a 1947 map that shows vague dashes — the nine-dash line — looping down to a point about 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) south of its Hainan island. Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan claim parts of the same maritime area, and have sparred with China over which claims are valid. The popular girl band is scheduled to perform in Vietnam’s capital July 29 and 30. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6292764/blackpink-vietnam-concert-nine-dash-line/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6292764/blackpink-vietnam-concert-nine-dash-line/"},"headline":"Vietnam Concert Organizer Apologizes After Blackpink Entangled in China Map Controversy","datePublished":"2023-07-07T03:45:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:07:17.861Z","description":"Vietnam aggressively polices all references to China’s so-called nine-dash-line, cracking down on navigation apps to Hollywood movies. The popular girl band is scheduled to perform in Hanoi July 29 and 30.","url":"https://time.com/6292764/blackpink-vietnam-concert-nine-dash-line/","keywords":["Vietnam","wire"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec9dff30c21f56d3/698a3e6de6e84abf942b0452/Blackpink-Concert.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mai Ngoc Chau and Linh Vu Nguyen / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec9dff30c21f56d3/698a3e6de6e84abf942b0452/Blackpink-Concert.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BLACKPINK World Tour Born Pink","caption":"BLACKPINK World Tour Born Pink","creditText":"Rich Polk—Penske Media/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/vietnam/","name":"Vietnam"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6292764/blackpink-vietnam-concert-nine-dash-line/","name":"Vietnam Concert Organizer Apologizes After Blackpink Entangled in China Map Controversy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Exiled Hong Kong Activists React to Their Million-Dollar Bounties","description":"Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday that a group of exiled pro-democracy activists will be “pursued for life.” Police announced a day earlier a reward of HK$1 million (a little over $125,000) in return for any information that could lead to the arrest of any of the eight political dissidents—which includes three former lawmakers—who were accused of violating the Chinese enclave’s controversial National Security Law.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/CXbxg0Nd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-07-05T20:21:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CXbxg0Nd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6292764/blackpink-vietnam-concert-nine-dash-line/","duration":"PT3M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6292764/blackpink-vietnam-concert-nine-dash-line/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```