Christian Dior apologises after criticism for excluding Taiwan from map of China

'Dior always respects and upholds the one China principle'

Christian Dior spring/summer 2018 Haute Couture Show in Shanghai, China (Rex Features)

Christian Dior has issued an apology after receiving backlash for excluding Taiwan from a map of China.

On Wednesday, the French fashion house displayed a map of China during a presentation about its boutique network at Zhejiang Gongshang University in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Images of the controversial map, which did not include Taiwan, were shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Reuters reports.

While many members of the Taiwanese population want it to be regarded as a separate nation to China, Beijing regards the region as a breakaway province, and part of “one China”.

In a post shared on its Weibo account, Dior apologised for the dispute regarding its depiction of China.

“Dior first extends our deep apologies for the incorrect statement and misrepresentation made by a Dior staff member at a campus presentation,” the firm said.

“Dior always respects and upholds the one China principle, strictly safeguards China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and treasures the feelings of the Chinese people.”

The fashion label added that it would be implementing measures to avoid similar incidents from occurring in future.

On Thursday, “Dior statement” was on the top trending topics on Weibo, with around 100 million views.

Dior is one of a string of companies to have issued similar apologies about descriptions of Chinese territories as of late.

In August, Austrian jewellery company Swarovski publicly apologised to China for describing Hong Kong as a country.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the company said it took “full responsibility” for the error.

“We have strengthened our global brand awareness and we will continue to review all our digital platforms globally to correct any inaccuracies,” an excerpt from the statement reads.

Coach, Versace and Coach also faced similar criticism for their representation of Chinese territories on products.