The Chinese TV series "Story of Yanxi Palace" has become a trend in China. The first 56 episodes of the show are being aired for free on Chinese video streaming platform iQiyi, which holds exclusive rights to the drama. And, iQiyi members can watch eight more episodes after they pay for a membership. However, netizens found the drama has been downloaded faster in some Vietnamese video websites which demand visitors indicate that the Xisha islands belong to Vietnam before viewing content.

Bom Tan, a Vietnamese video site, South China Morning Post mentioned, is one of a number of streaming sites showing pirated versions of the Chinese drama.

According to Reuters, when Chinese viewers accessed the site, they were required to answer questions about sovereignty over the South China Sea, including the Xisha Islands. The site gives access only if viewers choose the "correct" answer to a quiz about the islands.

The questionnaire contains three multiple-choice questions, all in Vietnamese. The first question on the page, Reuters reported, translates to "This service is for Vietnamese people only. Please answer the following questions: To which country do the Hoang Sa (Xisha Islands) belong? Vietnam, China, the Philippines or Japan?"

The other two questions were: "Where is the capital of Vietnam?" "What is the national anthem in Vietnam?"

The only correct answer to the first question, according to the website, is Vietnam, which means the viewers have to select "Vietnam" according to the present answers on the website. Otherwise, if you choose "China," you can't access the video.

"This is nonsense," a Chinese drama fan commented on Weibo. “The website seems like they have no rights to broadcast the drama, and who gave them the courage to steal the drama and Chinese territory at the same time?” This act has infuriated scores of television fans in China. 

Fans don't understand why the website has connected the TV series with political issues, moreover, the website does not seem to have the copyright license to hold the show. 

A Vietnamese website obtained six episodes of the popular Chinese TV series, which has not yet been aired in China, even faster than the exclusive rights holder iQiyi.

Many netizens said that the Vietnamese websites are "disgusting," and called for relevant departments to shut them down. They also accused these websites to have pirated Chinese TV series and variety shows for years.

The official Weibo account of "Story of Yanxi Palace" announced on August 20 that "any act of distributing, disseminating or selling the contents of the TV series 'Story of Yanxi Palace' which has not been aired is a form of infringement", asking other online streaming services to respect copyright laws, and to remove unauthorized copies of the drama from their websites.

As of late Friday evening, local Vietnamese time, the disputed question appears to have been removed from the quiz, replaced by another question.

The quiz page, however, remains. The TV series, according to BBC China, is still available on the site, but the update has stopped.

(Cover: A question about the South China Sea seen on a Vietnamese website, August 24, 2018. /Reuters Photo)