China fines Japanese-owned 7-Eleven for calling Taiwan a country
'Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,' the communist government says
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The Chinese government has fined the Japanese-owned 7-Eleven convenience store chain in Beijing for featuring a map on its website that labeled the island of Taiwan a country.
The company was fined 150,000 yuan ($23,519) by Chinese market regulators for displaying an "incorrect" and "incomplete" Chinese map that labeled Taiwan "an independent country," the Global Times, a Communist Party tabloid, reported Friday.
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A 7-Eleven location in Madison Heights, Michigan. It is the world's largest chain of convenience stores. Headquartered in Japan, there are currently a total of 39,000 locations worldwide.
"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory and the one-China principle is a widely-recognized norm governing international relations and the broad consensus of the international community," Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference.
Beijing also complained that the 7-Eleven website didn’t use its official names for some disputed islands in the South China Sea, The Guardian reported.
The Beijing stores are owned by a subsidiary of Japanese firm 7 & i Holdings, which said it would "do our best to prevent a recurrence," The Guardian reported.
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China claims Taiwan is part of its own territory and has rejected its claims of independence after the two countries split in 1949. The U.S. does not formally recognize Taiwan but maintains an unofficial relationship and is supportive of its democratic government.
Beijing has been increasing its presence near Taiwan and has been sending dozens of warplanes towards its defense zone, coinciding with calls by President Xi Jinping for Taiwan to be brought into China as part of a "peaceful reunification."
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this article.