City Council members in Irvine, California found themselves the objects of the ire of the city’s 2,800 Taiwanese residents thanks to a poorly-thought-out sister city agreement with China that expressly stipulates non-recognition of the existence of Taiwan.

The sister-city memorandum with Xuhui District in Shanghai, signed in late May, included promises not to send official city delegations to Taiwan, not to fly the Taiwanese flag and not to play the Taiwanese national anthem or attend National Day celebrations.

It also banned the use of the terms “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan” and stipulates that Irvine recognizes “that there is only one China.”

The City Council backed down and apologized for the error when about 175 angry protestors showed up for a council meeting.

The council also rescinded the original memo with the Chicoms, and said they would attempt to negotiate a new agreement, promising to scrap the agreement entirely if the two sides cannot agree on new terms.