Vietnamese netizens bash Netflix for annotating Hoi An as Chinese landmark

Hoi An in central Vietnam appeared in "Madam Secretary", an American political drama TV series, during season one, episode four. However, the series producer captioned the UNESCO heritage site as Fuling District of Chongqing City, China.

The screen shot was shared widely on Facebook and received lots of mixed reviews from netizens.

Many expressed disappointmens over the famous geographic location of Vietnam suddenly becoming a Chinese landmark, saying tourists would end up visiting Fuling instead of Hoi An because of the supposed beautiful scenery. But, some commented it is normal to borrow backgrounds when not shooting a documentary. 

The ancient town of Hoi An was recognized as a UNESCO world cultural heritage site in 1998 and has become one of the top holiday destinations in Vietnam.

When asked about the above incident, a representative of Netflix in Vietnam told VnExpress the streaming service bought the rights to broadcast the movie and it is not the production unit.

"The scene in question is from a licensed title called "Madam Secretary", which aired in 2014, and is a work of fiction. The show is not available in Vietnam and any resemblance to real life situations or locations are unintentional," the representative said.

"Madam Secretary", produced by broadcasting company CBS, stars Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst and political science professor turned Secretary of State and later U.S. President. It was released in September 2014, wrapped up sixth seasons in December 2019, and was later purchased by Netflix for broadcast purposes.