Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten printed a satirical cartoon of China's national flag with illustrations of the Wuhan coronavrius particles in place of the stars.

The Chinese embassy issued a statement demanding an apology from the paper and Danish artist Niels Bo Bojese, Reuters first reported.

Although Nybroe chalks up China's outrage to a different "cultural understanding," the newspaper previously provoked outrage for another satirical cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist with a bomb in 2005.

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In the Monday edition of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, readers found a satirical cartoon of China's national flag. In place of the five bright yellow stars were illustrated coronavirus particles.

China is currently grappling with containing the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak — and Chinese officials were less than pleased with the satirical cartoon titled poking fun at the country for its role in the pandemic.

The Chinese embassy immediately issued a statement, writing that Jyllands-Posten and Danish artist Niels Bo Bojesen should apologize to the Chinese people for the cartoon, Reuters first reported.

"Without any sympathy and empathy, it has crossed the bottom line of civilized society and the ethical boundary of free speech and offends human conscience," the embassy said on Tuesday.

Despite the sharp criticism from the Chinese embassy, Jylannds-Posten editor-in-chief Jacob Nybroe denied making fun of the outbreak in China, which has caused the deaths of more than 100 people in the country. Nybroe also refused to apologize for publishing the cartoon, saying the publication did nothing wrong.

"We can't apologize for something we don't think is wrong. We have no intention of demeaning or mocking, nor do we think the drawing does," Nybroe responded in Danish in a Jyllands-Posten article Tuesday. "As far as I can see, there are two different forms of cultural understanding here."

Although Nybroe chalks up China's outrage to a different "cultural understanding," the newspaper previously provoked outrage over another satirical cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist with a bomb in 2005.

After French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, published the same cartoons in 2006, two gunmen opened fire at the magazine's Paris office, killing 12 people.

The Wuhan coronavirus is believed to have originated at a wet market in the city. Although the first case of the coronavirus was detected in December, reports of the virus were not made public until January.

Chinese authorities reportedly arrested and detained citizens and journalists who they accused of spreading rumors about the coronavirus in the early days of the outbreak.

Chinese local authorities have been criticized — and admit to — not notifying the public about the outbreak in a "timely" manner.

Now, the Wuhan coronavirus has spread to at least 16 other countries and infected more than 4,600 people. The Chinese government has increased its efforts to contain the pandemic, quarantining the entire city of Wuhan and at least 15 other cities, and racing two build two hospitals in less than a week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that the virus was spreading quickly and posed a "grave threat."