Vietnam’s Bureaucratic Binge‑Wars Leave Chinese Drama Fans Fuming
The latest drama saga is less about Qing‑Dynasty intrigue and more about a Vietnamese website that’s turning binge‑watching into a national‑identity test. On August 24, 2018, a mysterious portal, bomtan.org, forced viewers to answer a quick quiz: “Which country owns the Paracel Islands? Vietnam, China, Philippines or Japan?” The only correct answer, according to the site, was Vietnam.
Who’s Watching “The Story of Yanxi Palace”?
- Free access: 56 episodes on iQiyi
- Paid upgrade: eight additional episodes
- Chinese fans swarm the Vietnamese site for the still‑unreleased episodes
Fans rushed to bomtan.org hoping to snag fresh episodes before the official Chinese broadcast. Instead, they were greeted with a patriotic pop‑up demanding a correct answer to a territory quiz. “What a strange move!” one Weibo commenter lamented, accusing Vietnam of challenging China’s sovereignty—and—on a cheeky twist—stealing Chinese territory.
Copyright Concerns and the Final Frown
The official Weibo account of the series posted a stern reminder on Aug 20, urging all streaming platforms to respect copyright and shut down unauthorized copies. While the drama has been pulled from the Vietnamese site, the quiz remains—an odd, lingering reminder of how a simple question can turn a binge‑watch into a geopolitical debate.
