148.jpg

Hanwha Life Esports Team

 

According to Taiwanese broadcaster FTV (民視新聞) on the 17th, Chinese viewers noticed that during the Worlds match held on the 15th, Chinese commentators repeatedly called only Hanwha Life Esports 'HLE', unlike other teams. While other Korean teams call out their team names normally, Hanwha Life Esports was uniquely referred to only as abbreviations like "HLE is showing good performance." Typically, Hanwha Life Esports is called 'Hanwha Life' or 'Hanwha' both domestically and internationally, but on Chinese broadcasts, this term has not appeared at all. Later, a Chinese pro gamer revealed on his personal broadcast that "this is related to the Chinese government's sanctions against Hanwha Group," according to FTV. Since Hanwha Ocean was placed on the sanctions list, the word 'Hanwha' itself has been treated as a banned word among tournament officials. Earlier, on the 14th, China's Ministry of Commerce announced sanctions against five Hanwha Ocean's U.S. subsidiaries as 'retaliatory measures' in response to the U.S. investigation of its Section 301 trade law on its shipbuilders. It was announced that sanctions would be imposed. China's Ministry of Commerce announced a decision on retaliatory measures against five U.S. subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean Corporation, stating, "The U.S. cooperated with the investigation under Section 301 of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding (Trade Act) against China, harming China's interests."   The sanctions targeted △Hanwha Shipping LLC △Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. △Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC △Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC △HS USA Holdings LLC, among others. Netizens reacted critically, saying, "It's pathetic that politicians are getting involved in game broadcasts," and "A Chinese caster mistakenly said 'Hanwha' and immediately changed his word," ,,, the U.S. State Department stated on the 16th, "China's sanctions on Hanwha Ocean's U.S. subsidiary are an attempt to weaken Korea-U.S. cooperation, He strongly criticized it, calling it another example of China's long-standing pattern of coercing Korea.