《TAIPEI TIMES》 Eighteen airlines bow to Beijing

/ Reuters, HONG KONG

The Civil Aviation Administration of China on Friday said that 18 of the 44 airlines it had contacted have changed how they refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau on their Web sites by the 30-day deadline it set.

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The agency last month sent letters to airlines, requesting that they remove references on their Web sites or in other material that suggests Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are nations and territories independent from China, in a move the White House described as “Orwellian nonsense.”

The letters were dated April 25 and airlines were given 30 days to comply, suggesting a deadline of Friday.

Twenty-six airlines have asked for more time to comply due to technical issues, the aviation regulator said in a statement, while some airlines had promised to comply by July 25.

Airlines such as Air Canada, Lufthansa and British Airways have made changes to their Web site descriptions to list Taiwan as Chinese territory, according to Reuters’ checks, although it is unclear when they started referring to Taiwan that way.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week asked Air Canada for a “speedy correction” after the carrier made changes.

The ministry yesterday issued a statement condemning China’s demands from the airlines.

“Such behavior will not help the positive development of cross-strait relations, but would only stir resentment among Taiwanese toward the Chinese government,” the ministry said.

As an independent and sovereign nation, Taiwan and its people will not be subdued by any threats or intimidation, and such attempts will only further alienate Taiwan from China, it said.

The government continues to urge foreign airlines not to belittle Taiwan or damage its sovereignty and dignity by bowing to pressure from China, it added.

Agence France-Presse found that at least eight foreign airlines were still listing Taiwan as a country on their Web sites as of Friday, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, All Nippon Airways and Qantas.

A spokesperson for Qantas told reporters that Chinese authorities have given the Australian carrier “additional time to further clarify how we refer to Chinese territories.”

The letters did not clarify the punishment for non-compliance, only saying it would be deemed as “serious discreditable conduct.”

Beijing has become increasingly sensitive to how foreign firms describe them, pressuring numerous international brands in recent months to amend language perceived as slights to its national sovereignty.

US retailer Gap last week apologized for selling a T-shirt which it said had an “incomplete map” of China that omitted Taiwan.

Japanese retailer Muji was fined 200,000 yuan （US$31,307） for packaging that identified Taiwan as a separate nation, Shanghai’s Administration for Industry and Commerce said last month.

Additional reporting by AFP and CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES