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Nat Geo goofs up geography, lists 'Taiwan, China' in '100 Best Destinations'

National Geographic needs a lesson in geography after placing 'Taiwan, China' on '100 Best Destinations' list

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Image of National Geographic special issue. (Taiwan Passport Sticker)

Image of National Geographic special issue. (Taiwan Passport Sticker)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Taiwanese netizens have discovered that in the 2017 issue of "National Geographic 100 Best Destinations: Around the World in Four Seasons," the magazine listed "Taiwan, China" as number 48 under "summer family fun. "

Users of the Facebook group "Taiwan Passport Sticker" (TPS), noticed National Geographic in its special travel edition listed "Taiwan, China" in the number 48 spot, prompting them to launch a campaign to provide a geography lesson for the self-proclaimed "world leader in geography, cartography, and exploration."

On its Facebook page, TPS said that it was happy that Taiwan had been included in its top 100 tourist sites, but it was vexing that the country had been added to China. In response, TPS encouraged its 38,000 followers to message National Geographic on all forms of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that, "Taiwan is NOT part of China. Taiwan does NOT belong to China. Please STOP including Taiwan in the territory of China!"

TPS also invited people overseas to correct any instance in which Taiwan is mentioned as part of China or shown on a map as belonging to China to speak out and join with their Taiwanese friends in telling the foreign media "The fact that Taiwan does not belong to China."

TPS user Phoenix Chang mocked the National Geographic issue saying, "Looks like there are going to be lots of families trying to get Taiwanese visas at Chinese embassies and fail. We gotta thank NG for leading families all over the world to find out the truth that Taiwan is not part of China."

Nat Geo goofs up geography, lists 'Taiwan, China' in '100 Best Destinations'
"Taiwan, China" as number 48. (Sina Weibo image)

Another user of the Facebook group, Pearline, created a more formal letter template for other members to use:

"Dear Sir or Madam:
Your 2017 "100 Best Destination: Around the World in Four Seasons" issue erroneously listed Taiwan as "Taiwan, China", while Taiwan is not a part of China. I respectfully request an official retraction. Your attention to this serious matter is greatly appreciated.
Very truly yours,
(Your Name)"

The TPS post then included a listing of contact information to National Geographic to send their corrections to:

National Geographic Facebook page.

National Geographic contact page.

National Geographic Twitter.

National Geographic Instagram.

TPS then closed its post with an explanation of the organization's mission:

"Passports covered with Taiwan stickers will not enable Taiwan to become an independent country immediately, but will allow more Taiwanese people to understand the absurd existence of 'The Republic of China' and the necessity of Taiwan's founding, with the ultimate goal of Taiwan's legal independence. You are welcome to join the ranks of Taiwan independence."