China’s attempts to isolate Taiwan spill over into private sector

Posted on : 2018-05-24 16:59 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Civil Aviation Administration of China sends message to 36 airlines demanding that Taiwan be labeled as “Taiwan China”
The US clothing brand Gap has promised to recall t-shirts that depict a map of China without Taiwan.
The US clothing brand Gap has promised to recall t-shirts that depict a map of China without Taiwan.

Most airlines have altered their labeling for Taiwan ahead of a looming deadline for “corrective action” demanded by China, which has taken issue with the way foreign airlines refer to Taiwan.

The situation has prompted an outpouring of criticism as China’s attempts to isolate Taiwan spill over beyond government areas to affect private businesses.

On Apr. 25, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sent messages to 36 airlines with service in China demanding that they label Taiwan as part of China on their respective web pages.

In addition to insisting that China and Taiwan could not be placed in the same category for selecting a “country” or “country/region,” it demanded that the airlines clearly label Taiwan as “Taiwan China” to show it as part of China. The CAAC set a one-month deadline, warning of “appropriate action” according to China’s Civil Aviation Industry Credit Management Trial Measures if the airlines did not comply. It did not mention what specific actions would be taken.

The official title of Taiwan is the Republic of China (ROC), as established in 1911 by Sun Yat-sen. The Taiwanese Constitution does not recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC) formed on the mainland in 1949. Both adhere to a “one China” principle, insisting that two Chinas cannot coexist. Consequently, other countries are unable to maintain diplomatic relations with both.

Because the two sides function practically as two different countries, some global businesses label them distinctly. With its emphasis on “territorial sovereignty,” however, China has recently begun extending its pressure tactics to foreign businesses.

An examination of the airlines’ websites on May 23 – two days ahead of the announced deadline – showed many had bowed to the PRC’s demands. Some showed Taiwan as part of the PRC or it within a large category of “mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.” Others adopted the “Taiwan China” label demanded by the CAAC.

According to the AP, 20 airlines – including Asiana, Air Canada, and Lufthansa – had placed Taiwan in a subcategory under China.

But US airlines like United, American, Delta, and Hawaiian did not change their labeling. Their decision appeared to be based on US government policies: in a May 5 statement, the White House called China’s demands “Orwellian nonsense” and quoted President Donald Trump as condemning the “growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies.”

The Global Times, which represents a hardline Chinese nationalist perspective, stirred the pot on May 23 by publishing a “passing list” and “blacklist” of airlines that did and did not comply with the CAAC’s demands. The blacklist included the US airlines along with Qantas (Australia), Singapore Airlines, Air France, Japan Airlines (JAL), All Nippon Airways (ANA), and Korean Air. The article also described Korean Air’s inclusion of Taiwan in the category “Southeast Asia/India” as “intolerable.”

The controversy heated up early this year amid an intense response from the Chinese public over Taiwan’s labeling as a separate country on the web pages of Delta, the US-based hotel chain Marriott, and the Spanish clothing brand Zara. After threats of a boycott by Chinese consumers, the brands publicly apologized and pledge to “respect China’s territorial sovereignty.” The US clothing brand Gap also apologized and promised to recall t-shirts showing a map of China without Taiwan after objections from China.

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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