Taiwan to Target Airlines That Say Island Belongs to China

By Samson Ellis and Adela Lin

Taiwan is looking at ways to hit back at foreign airlines that recently caved in to pressure from Beijing to refer to the island as part of China.
The transportation ministry is studying countermeasures, according to an official who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly. 

Taipei-based United Daily News reported earlier Monday the measures could include banning offending airlines from using boarding bridges and changing takeoff and landing slots. 

Authorities are also considering offering incentives for carriers that switch to a more neutral wording for Taiwan, such as reducing or eliminating landing fees and facility charges.
Retaliation from Taipei would be its first official response to increasing pressure from the mainland. Beijing has successfully pressured 44 international airlines to refer to Taiwan as a part of China on their websites. 

The White House in May criticized China’s efforts to impose its political views on U.S. citizens and private companies as “Orwellian nonsense.”
The Taipei-based Civil Aeronautics Administration has asked the airlines to change their websites, saying defining the island as part of China damages Taiwan’s sovereignty, deputy transportation minister Wang Kwo-tsai said via telephone. 

He said authorities were still considering what measures to take and they would take passengers’ interests into account before implementing them.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China sent a letter to more than 40 foreign carriers in April, ordering them not to place China, Hong Kong and Taiwan on an equal footing. 

The letter stipulated that Taiwan must be referred to as “China Taiwan” or the “China Taiwan region” and maps must display Taiwan in the same color as mainland China.
A search for Taiwanese destinations on the websites of Delta Air Lines Inc.and American Airlines Group Inc. shows Taiwanese cities without a country name or code, unlike say London or Tokyo.
China has declared those changes “incomplete” and has given the carriers until Thursday to fully implement its directive.
While Taiwan has been ruled separately from China for much of the past 120 years, Beijing claims the island as part of its territory to be taken by force if necessary.

China's Orwellian nonsense

U.S. Airlines Unbowed by Beijing’s Demand to Call Taiwan Part of China
Delta, American and United hold out after Chinese insist they change websites, other materials
By Trefor Moss

A United Airlines Boeing 777 takes off from Hong Kong. 

SHANGHAI—Many global airlines have bowed to Chinese demands to refer to Taiwan as part of China, but a handful of others—including the three main U.S. international carriers—haven’t, amid a U.S. backlash against Beijing’s insistence on conformity with its views.
The U.S. airlines look to be taking their cue from Washington, with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators urging the carriers to stand up to Chinese bullying and the White House branding China’s request “Orwellian nonsense.”
“We have deferred the matter to the U.S. government since this is a diplomatic issue to be resolved among governments,” a United Airlines spokesman said in a statement given to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
Though China claims Taiwan, the island is run by its own democratically elected government.
A spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines, which has yet to change its stance, said the airline was in close consultation with the U.S. government on the matter. 

An American Airlines spokeswoman declined to comment on the carrier’s noncompliance.
Other holdouts as of Thursday included Japan’s ANA and JAL, Korea’s Asiana and Korean Air , Air India and Vietnam Airlines. 

These carriers are from countries with historical or political reasons for wanting to stand up to China—including territorial disputes. 

Beijing has set a June 24 deadline for compliance.

A model China Southern Airlines Co. aircraft displayed at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, China, last month. U.S. airlines have thus far not bent to Beijing’s demands to refer to Taiwan as part of China. 

“This is another example of China using its growing global heft to ensure that its view of the world informs the behavior of organizations, countries and companies world-wide,” said Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
“For companies doing business in China this may eventually boil down to a choice: Amend your global websites to reflect China’s view of its territorial sovereignty, or face being excluded from or disrupted in the China market,” Mr. Jarrett said.
China wrote to airlines in April demanding that they change their websites and other materials—not just in China, but globally—and adopt language approved by Beijing regarding self-ruled Taiwan.
Hong Kong and Macau, which are special administrative regions of China, are also included in the order.
Airlines were initially given 30 days to comply, though the deadline was later extended until June 24 to give them extra time to make the required changes. 

Airlines that don’t comply are liable for punishments including more frequent government inspections and the loss of landing slots at Chinese airports, according to China’s civil aviation authority.
The country’s authorities are more aggressively demanding that consumer-facing information reflect China’s world view. 

This year alone, at least a dozen U.S. and other Western brands and companies—including Marriott International, the Zara apparel chain and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz unit—have drawn Beijing’s ire for what it considered inflammatory content.

The Taipei Marriott hotel earlier this year. The international hospitality giant has come under fire from China’s government. 

Most companies have acquiesced, fearful of being cut out of the world’s second-largest economy. Marriott even fired an hourly worker who used a company Twitter account to “like” a tweet by a Tibetan separatist group. 

Beijing has zero tolerance for "separatist" movements in Tibet, which is a colony of China.
But China’s latest demands are drawing political counter-fire in the U.S., from the Trump administration and from the bipartisan group of senators, which wrote to U.S. airline chief executives last month vowing to oppose Chinese interference in American companies.
The demands come against a backdrop of trade tensions between the U.S. and China and more interaction between Washington and Taipei.
The U.S.-backed American Institute in Taiwan on Tuesday opened a new $240 million de facto embassy in the Taiwanese capital, a move which drew stern criticism from Beijing.
Surprisingly, two Hong Kong-based airlines with strong links to the Beijing government have so far not made the changes demanded.
Cathay Pacific is 20%-owned by state-run Air China, while Hong Kong Airlines is controlled by HNA Group, another Chinese state company. 

Yet the two carriers don’t describe Taiwan as part of China or refer to Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China.
Neither airline responded to questions.
Among the airlines that have complied with China’s wishes are Air France , British Airways, Lufthansa , Emirates, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines , Thai Airways , Turkish Airlines and Air Canada. 

They now refer to “Taiwan, China” in their list of destinations.
Australia’s Qantas had yet to make changes to its website, though its chief executive, Alan Joyce, said last week that the airline would do so before the deadline.
A spokesman for Montreal-based International Air Transport Association said China had set out some “very stringent requirements” in demanding that airlines make global changes.
“Airlines are nonpolitical businesses serving many global markets,” he said, adding that they find it tough “when government requirements are politically rather than operationally motivated.”

Kowtowing to China's Despots

How China is winning the battle to censor the world view of Taiwan
By Michael Smith

Alan Joyce at the IATA conference in Sydney this week. Qantas will be criticised for kowtowing to China over Taiwan's sovereignty. 

It turns out even a street address can be considered subversive in politically-sensitive China, particularly during the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
China's popular taxi-hailing app Didi was this week refusing to accepting my home address as a pick-up destination because it contains the numerals "6" and "4" -- a combination censors fear could refer to June 4, 1989 -- the date of the deadly student protests in Beijing.
Several attempts to type in the address were blocked and followed by a message which said the content contained "sensitive words".
China typically tightens internet censorship in early June, banning words such as "tank" or even combinations of numerals adding up to 64.
However, this was the first time I had heard of the Uber-like taxi service banning particular pick-up addresses.
The incident highlights the lengths to which China will go to erase events it would prefer not to see in the history books.

A candlelight vigil for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Hong Kong's Victoria Park this week. China has written the event out of its history. 

It also demonstrates the futile battle Qantas would have faced if it had decided to stand up to Beijing on another sensitive issue - Taiwan.
The airline was in the cross-hairs of Sino-Australian political tensions this week after chief executive Alan Joyce told an international airline conference the carrier would change the way it refers to self-ruled Taiwan in its public material following China's objections.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull backed Joyce's decision, while Foreign Minister Julie Bishop took issue with China telling Australian companies what to do.
The last thing Qantas, or any other company wants, is to get caught into the middle of a complex political spat between Canberra and Beijing.
These challenges are not new.
The Australian Financial Review first reported Qantas's decision to change the way it described some destinations on its website on January 15.
"Due to an oversight, some Chinese territories were incorrectly listed as 'countries' on parts of our website. We are correcting this error," the airline said at the time.
Beijing now wants airlines to add "China" in brackets after references to Taiwan in their list of destinations.
It is a lose-lose situation.
On one hand, Qantas will be criticised for kowtowing to China over Taiwan's sovereignty.
On the other, the airline has a responsibility to shareholders to protect its business interests in China -- which is now the biggest source of tourists to Australia.
Qantas, which has a partnership with China Eastern Airlines, would prefer the whole issue to go away.
Joyce notes he is merely adopting the Australian government's position on China.
While the chief executive has taken a stand on other social issues such as gay marriage, Taiwan's sovereignty is not a battle his shareholders would want him to take on.
Qantas is not alone.
China's aviation regulator wrote to around 36 other global airlines expressing its displeasure with the way they referred to Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong in their public material.
Eighteen airlines have not yet responded.
While the US government -- which denounced Beijing's displeasure as "Orwellian nonsense" -- has urged its carriers to dig in their heels, many other carriers in Asia are complying.
Garuda Indonesia, Asiana Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada and British Airways all have changed the way they refer to Taiwan, according to local media.
Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific refer to Taiwan as a "destination".
The list of other companies scrambling to appease China is also growing.
US retailer Gap, Japan's Muji and the Marriott Hotel group have made changes to material after pressure from China.
Australian infant milk group Bellamy's said in January it was changing a reference to Hong Kong on its corporate website.
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and will not have diplomatic relations with countries that recognise it as a separate nation.
It is now effectively using its economic clout to freeze out companies that do the same thing.
"There is only one China in the world and Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau have always been parts of China," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said this week.
While many in the international community do not agree with this position, foreign governments as well as companies such as Qantas feel powerless to change it.
The US is the major exception.
Like its ability to erase references to Tiananmen Square within China, Beijing's ability to change the way the rest of the world refers to other sensitive issues such as Taiwan's independence is worrying for many.

Chinese Fifth Column

Censorship of 'Taiwan' at U.S. University Sparks Concern Over Chinese Influence
RFA

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping (R) opens a Confucius Center in Britain

The recent removal by a Beijing-backed language school embedded on a university campus in the United States of a reference to the democratic island of Taiwan has sparked concern that Chinese political censorship is compromising freedom of speech far beyond its borders.
Journalism award winner Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, who gave a keynote address at Savannah State University’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, found that an entry on her biography saying she had worked in Taiwan had been removed.
"I’d listed the self-governing island as one of the places where I’d reported," Allen-Ebrahimian wrote in Foreign Policy magazine after the event. 

"But in the printed materials for the event, the reference to Taiwan had been removed."
She said the award she won was underwritten by the local Confucius Institute, whose Beijing-funded staff are trained in China and instilled with Communist Party teachings before being posted overseas.
On the day Allen-Ebrahimian accepted her award, Luo Qijuan, co-director of the on-campus institute at Savannah State, came over to criticize her for making China look bad when she spoke about Beijing's crackdown on freedom of expression and persecution of ethnic minority groups during her keynote speech.
Allen-Ebrahimian later learned that Luo was also behind the editing of her biography.
Sulaiman Gu, a Chinese rights activist currently studying chemistry at the University of Georgia, said that while Confucius Institutes should be free to promote the Chinese government's point of view, they shouldn't do so to the exclusion of all other views.
"There is a certain degree of logic to the Confucius Institute wanting to put forward its own understanding of the situation, because it is in a campus where there is freedom of speech," Gu told RFA. 

"But precisely because there is freedom of speech, it can't force others to accept that version."
"It shouldn't seek to silence all other opinions."

Nondisclosure clauses, unacceptable concessions
Once lauded as the jewel in the crown of China's "soft power" cultural diplomacy, Confucius Institutes have sprung up at hundreds of colleges and teaching institutions around the world.
Partnering with local academic centers, their stated aim is to teach people to speak Chinese, as well as broadening people's experience of Chinese culture in general.
But Confucius Institutes, which are effectively an arm of the Chinese state, also have a hidden agenda: to promote Beijing's political views overseas.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has warned that cooperation agreements underpinning Confucius Institutes feature nondisclosure clauses and unacceptable concessions to the political aims and practices of the government of China.
It said such political agendas are typically allowed to flourish in U.S. colleges and universities, even when curriculum choices and academic debate are restricted as a result.
In February, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida hit out at the continuing presence of Confucius Institutes in the state, prompting at least one college not to renew its agreement with the Hanban, the Chinese government body that oversees and funds them.
The University of West Florida later announced it would not be renewing its contract with the Confucius Institute, citing lack of student interest in its exchange programs.
Rubio, chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, wrote: "I remain deeply concerned by the proliferation of Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in the United States."
"Given China’s aggressive campaign to ‘infiltrate’ American classrooms, stifle free inquiry, and subvert free expression both at home and abroad, I respectfully urge you to consider terminating your Confucius Institute agreement."
Rubio said Confucius Institutes hold "decidedly illiberal views of education and academic freedom."
“Topics, such as the status of Tibet and Taiwan, the fourth of June 1989 at Tiananmen Square, Falun Gong, and universal human rights, are off-limits at these institutes,” he wrote.

Growing sensitivity on Taiwan
The University of Chicago, Texas A&M University, Pennsylvania State University and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario have already shut down their Confucius Institutes.
Gu said Rubio's warning was entirely reasonable.
"Through such practices [as censoring references to Taiwan], Confucius Institutes can largely control perceptions of China among young people in the West who have just begun to learn Chinese," Gu said. 

"When they finish their studies, they [could go on to] play a pivotal role in determining those countries' policies towards China."
China has recently shown growing sensitivity to the use of the word "Taiwan," especially where its usage implies a territory that is distinct and separate from the rest of China.
Last month, Beijing's Civil Aviation Administration requested that foreign airlines to take "Taiwan," "Hong Kong" and "Macao" out of their lists of countries, or standalone destinations.
The request, which came as Xi Jinping begins an indefinite term in office with the aim of making China a global superpower, was rejected by the U.S. government as "Orwellian nonsense."
"China is more powerful nowadays, so it is bolder about wanting its say in world affairs," Gu said. Xi Jinping has been saying for a long time that he wants China to take part in global governance. 

He wants to govern, and to spread his views and Beijing's views all round the world. 

Taiwan has been ruled separately from mainland China since the nationalist government of the 1911 Republic of China fled to the island after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists in 1949.
The majority of its 23 million residents are happy with self-rule, and the island has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.
Liang Yunxiang, international relations professor at Peking University, said that Beijing has been stepping up the pressure on the island's government since President Tsai Ing-wen was elected in 2016.
"Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power, they have been unwilling to recognize the one China principle," Liang said, referring to a 1992 consensus that both the mainland and Taiwan are parts of a single territory currently under different governments.
"China is very angry about this, and is therefore constantly putting pressure on [Taiwan]."

Kowtowing to China’s Despots

Airlines caving to China's demands despite White House protest
By Erika Kinetz

In this May 21, 2018, photo, computer screens display the booking website of British Airways showing "Taiwan-China" in Beijing, China. Global airlines are obeying Beijing's demands to refer to Taiwan explicitly as a part of China, despite the White House's call this month to stand firm.
SHANGHAI — Global airlines are obeying Beijing's demands to refer to Taiwan explicitly as a part of China, despite the White House's call this month to stand firm against such "Orwellian nonsense." The Associated Press found 20 carriers, including Air Canada, British Airways and Lufthansa, that now refer to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing considers Chinese territory, as a part of China on their global websites.
There are just three days left for dozens of foreign airlines to decide whether to comply with Beijing's orders, or face consequences that could cripple their China business, including legal sanctions.

Many have already sided with Beijing.
The spread of "Taiwan, China" on the drop-down menus and maps of airline websites represents another victory for China's dictator Xi Jinping and his ruling Communist Party's effort to force foreign companies to conform to their geopolitical vision, even in operations outside of China. 

China's incremental push to leverage its economic power to forge new international norms — in this case regarding Taiwan's status — creates worrying precedents.
Beyond fiery missives there is little Washington can do to unify a fractured global response and effectively push back against Beijing's demands.
"What's at stake is that we're allowing a revisionist regime with a terrible track record on freedom of speech to dictate what we say and write in our own countries," said J. Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow with the China Policy Institute and the University of Nottingham's Taiwan studies program. 

"If Beijing does not encounter red lines, it can only keep asking for more."
For Beijing, there is only one China and Taiwan, which has been a democracy since the 1990s, is part of it. 

The People's Republic of China and Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949. 

Washington officially recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei, but despite the lack of formal ties, the U.S. is legally bound to respond to threats to Taiwan and is the island's main supplier of foreign military hardware.
"We strongly object to China's efforts to bully, coerce, and threaten their way to achieving their political objectives," Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement to the AP. 

"We call on all countries around the world to stand together to uphold the freedom of speech and freedom to do business. We also call on private firms to collectively reject China's unreasonable demands to change their designation of "Taiwan" to "Taiwan, China."
Xi has warned a Taiwanese envoy that the issue of unification cannot be put off indefinitely, and the People's Liberation Army has sent fighter planes near Taiwan's coast. 

As China steps up efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, the list of multinationals that have bent to Beijing's will is long — and growing.
U.S. clothing retailer The Gap apologized this month for selling T-shirts with a map of China that omitted Taiwan and pulled the offending merchandise from stores around the world. 

In January, Delta Airlines, Marriott, Zara and medical equipment maker Medtronic all publicly apologized for referring to Taiwan as a country.
"You can't just say 'no,'" said Carly Ramsey, a regulatory risk specialist at Control Risks, a consultancy in Shanghai. 

"Increasingly, for situations like this, non-compliance is not an option if you want to do business in and with China."
The day after Delta apologized for "emotional damage caused to the Chinese people," the Civil Aviation Administration of China published a notice on its website saying it requires foreign airlines operating in China to avoid referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as countries.
Some foreign carriers began changing drop-down menus on their websites from "country" to "country/region."
But Beijing wanted more.
On April 25, the Civil Aviation Administration of China sent a letter to 36 foreign airlines ordering them to explicitly refer to Taiwan as a part of China. 

The regulator did not respond to requests for comment.
In a strongly-worded statement 10 days later, the White House called that demand "Orwellian nonsense."
"China's efforts to export its censorship and political correctness to Americans and the rest of the free world will be resisted," it said.
China's foreign ministry hit back the next day, saying Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are "inalienable" parts of China's territory and foreign companies operating in China "should respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China's laws and respect the national sentiment of the Chinese people."
A growing number of airlines have heeded Beijing's call.
The AP found that Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Asiana Airlines, and Philippine Airlines all have changed the way they refer to Taiwan to bring their global websites in line with the Chinese Communist Party's vision. 

SAS airlines, Swissair, Malaysia Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Aeroflot, Italy's Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, Air Mauritius, Etihad Airways, Spain's Iberia, Israel's EL AL, MIAT Mongolian Airlines and Russia's S7 Airlines all also refer to Taiwan as part of China, but it was not immediately clear how long they had been using that formulation.
Lufthansa, British Airways, Air Canada and Finnair said they abide by laws and regulations internationally and in the jurisdictions in which they work.
"This includes taking customs of the international clientele into consideration," Lufthansa said in a statement, adding that we "seek your understanding for the situation."
Finnair said a decision was taken to amend the website earlier this year and "in line with the general view taken in Europe, Taiwan is not shown as an independent country in our list of destinations."
Major U.S. carriers have not yet caved. 
United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta and Hawaiian Airlines, as well as Australia's Qantas Airways — all of which received April letters from the regulator — did not refer to Taiwan as part of China on their websites as of Tuesday.
The airlines told AP they were reviewing the request.
But the sweep of concessions will likely make it harder to resist Beijing's call.
"If they make individual corporate decisions, they will likely accede, individually but entirely, to Chinese demands," said Robert Daly, the director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
What Washington could do, he added, is "launch and sustain a global discussion of the implications of Beijing's insistence on the worldwide jurisdiction of Chinese law. That kind of effort would require a commitment to global leadership and strong alliances that this administration has not yet demonstrated."
In one apparent exception to Beijing's rules the national flag carrier Air China seems not to have gotten the regulator's memo.
On its U.S. site, Taipei is a part of "Taiwan, China."
But its Taiwan website lists it as "Taipei, Taiwan."
Air China did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Air Canada’s kowtowing to China’s despots sends a dangerous signal

Democracy, liberty and freedom should be areas of no-compromise in our negotiations with Chinese dictators. 

By J. MICHAEL COLE

In the months since China began to bring pressure on international airlines to remove all references from their websites, apps and booking services to Taiwan as anything other than part of China, I, along with many other Canadians living in Asia, had taken great pride in the fact that Air Canada had refused to be cowed by the authoritarian giant.
Sadly, that is no more. 

Joining a growing list of airlines including Qantas, Delta, British Airways and Lufthansa, Air Canada now uses a designation – “Taipei, CN” – that does not reflect reality, but can only please the leadership in Beijing, which refuses to acknowledge the existence of Taiwan as a sovereign entity.
Despite only having 19 official diplomatic allies, Taiwan −a vibrant democracy of 23.5 million people that shares many of the values we as Canadian cherish − entertains constructive ties with many countries around the world. 

An important economic partner of Canada, Taiwan is also home to as many as 60,000 Canadians. Taiwan has its own passport, its own elected government, military, currency and enjoys many advantages, such as visa-free entry, the Chinese people are denied.
China, meanwhile, has shed constitutional limits to the presidency, and in recent years has done much to undo a lot of the limited progress it had made in the past two decades or so – some of that with Canadian assistance – in terms of civil liberties. 

Freedom of expression, of belief, have been eroded; repression in East Turkestan has reached levels which border on conditions in a prison camp; activists, lawyers, academics, in and outside China, have been threatened, denied visas and taken to court merely for exposing the transgressions of a regime that brooks no criticism. 

Under Xi Jinping, China has become worryingly aggressive in its territorial claims, going as far as to militarize the South China Sea, and is now seen as a threat to several smaller countries in the region. Under Xi’s guidance, China has also launched a series of initiatives, known as “sharp power”, to undermine democracies worldwide.
Beijing has also exploited Ottawa’s desire to sign a free-trade agreement with the world’s second-largest economy, to compel it to look the other way whenever it has violated the beliefs and values that define us as Canadians.
For Taiwan, Ottawa has been a solid partner, supporting Taipei’s efforts to join multilateral institutions such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Assembly, which Beijing has prevented for political reasons. 

This Ottawa does because it understands the values of inclusion. 

And even though it “took note” of Beijing’s claims that Taiwan is part of China upon establishing diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China in October, 1970, Ottawa’s multifaceted engagement of Taiwan is guided by the recognition of its value as a distinct polity and partner.
We may be critical of Donald Trump’s White House for many things, but it spoke for many of us earlier this month when it referred to Beijing’s pressure on international airlines as “Orwellian nonsense”.
Understandably, Justin Trudeau’s government looks to China as an important economic partner to ensure our own prosperity, but we cannot afford to compromise the values, beliefs and traditions that make us who we are in the process. 

Canadian companies need not give in to bullying and blackmail for access to the Chinese market. Instead, we need to make it clear that this is a relationship of equals, one in which we have our own red lines.
Democracy, liberty and freedom should be areas of no-compromise in our negotiations with Chinese authorities. 

When we yield to Beijing’s preposterous demands, the way Air Canada did on how it refers to Taiwan, we display our weakness and our willingness to compromise what we believe in. 

A revisionist regime that seeks to undermine and alter the international system can only see such weakness as an invitation to demand more – and in doing so, we sow the seeds of our own misfortune.
I speak for many Canadians today in feeling ashamed for the decision by Air Canada, a company we can be proud of, to give in to Beijing’s coercion. 

Surely we can do better than this.

Taiwan slams global brands for kowtowing to China

Taiwan is calling out global brands that have bowed to Chinese pressure to treat it as just another part of China.
By Daniel Shane

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday berated Air Canada and Gap on Twitter, accusing the airline of buckling under pressure and the clothing retailer of sending the wrong message to the world.
The public scoldings follow recent efforts by the Chinese government to get international companies to adopt its stance on Taiwan on their websites and apps.
China considers self-governed Taiwan to be an integral part of its territory, and comes down hard on any suggestions to the contrary. 

But Taiwan's government, which is currently controlled by a pro-independence party, doesn't recognize Beijing's claims.
It's upset with Air Canada for appearing to describe Taiwan as part of China on its global website.
Air Canada's site now lists destinations in Taiwan under the designation "CN," which is shorthand for China. 

The change appeared to have been made in the past few days, based on archived versions of the carrier's website. 

It previously referred to the destinations as being in "TW," short for Taiwan.
A spokesman for the ministry told Taiwan's main news agency, CNA, on Tuesday that it had asked Canada's biggest airline to rectify the issue.
Air Canada did not respond to requests for comment outside of regular office hours. 

Canadian broadcaster CBC reported that a spokeswoman for the airline said its "policy is to comply with all requirements in all worldwide jurisdictions to which we fly."
The Chinese government recently wrote to more than 30 international airlines, including some US carriers, demanding that they change their websites to remove any information that could suggest that Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau are not part of China.
The Air Canada spokeswoman didn't say whether the company had received a specific request from China, according to CBC.
The White House has slammed China's demands as "Orwellian nonsense," calling them "part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies."
In January, Delta was publicly scolded by China's aviation administrator for listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on its Chinese website. 

The company quickly apologized and fixed the issue, drawing criticism from Taiwan.
Other big brands including Marriott and Zara have apologized for similar missteps.
Taiwan's government is unhappy with Gap for its response to an outcry in China over one of its T-shirts. 

Chinese social media users complained that the map of China on the T-shirt left out Taiwan and islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea.
Gap on Monday apologized for failing "to reflect the correct map of China" and said it would withdraw the T-shirt from the Chinese market.
"Disappointing to see @Gap engaged in self-criticism," Taiwan's Foreign Ministry tweeted Wednesday. 

"Such acts send the wrong message to the world."
China and Taiwan -- officially the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, respectively -- separated in 1949 following the Communist victory on the mainland after a civil war.
They have been governed separately since, though a shared cultural and linguistic heritage mostly endures -- with Mandarin spoken as the official language in both places.

Chinese Paranoia

White House calls China’s threats to airlines ‘Orwellian nonsense’
By Josh Rogin 

In the long strategic struggle between the United States and China, one key issue is whether the Chinese Communist Party will be able to force Americans to do what it says, especially American companies. 

Now, the Chinese government is threatening to impose a version of its “social credit score” system on international airlines, with steep punishments unless they acquiesce to Beijing’s political demands. 

The Trump administration has decided to tell China that that is not going to fly.
On April 25, the Chinese government sent dozens of international airlines a written threat of severe punishments if they don’t change their websites to declare that Taiwan is part of China, among other things. I have obtained a copy of the letter. 

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is set to release a press statement calling the Chinese government’s threats “political correctness” run amok.
“This is Orwellian nonsense and part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies,” the statement reads. 

“China’s internal Internet repression is world-famous. China’s efforts to export its censorship and political correctness to Americans and the rest of the free world will be resisted.”
The White House statement is the strongest U.S. government rebuke to date of China’s increased pressure on foreign companies to toe the Chinese Communist Party line. 

In recent months, Marriott Hotels and Mercedes-Benz both folded to Chinese government pressure and removed online content related to Tibet. 

Marriott even fired an American worker for “liking” a tweet by a pro-Tibet group.
The letter from China’s Civil Aviation Administration says that on Feb. 27, the Chinese government asked each airline to investigate its websites and remove any references to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau that “mistakenly describe them as countries or anything otherwise inconsistent with Chinese law.”
The version of the letter I obtained was addressed to United Airlines and said the Chinese government found “there still exists violations of Chinese laws and contradictions to the one China policy of your government.” 

The Chinese government demanded United change its website so that “Taiwan shall be called ‘Chinese Taiwan’ or ‘Taiwan: province/region of China.’”
Taiwan must be included in any map of China on its website and United must use the same color on the website for mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the letter stated. 

Taiwan cannot be listed as a country alongside China. 

Taiwan destinations must not be classified as being in Southeast Asia but must be put in the same category as China on the website.
If United doesn’t comply by May 25, the Chinese government will invoke “Civil Aviation Industry Credit Management Trial Measures” and “make a record of your company’s serious dishonesty and take disciplinary actions against your company,” the letter states. 

The Civil Aviation Administration will also “transfer your company’s violation of Chinese laws to the National Cyber Information Office and other law enforcement agencies to take administrative penalties according to law.”
That reference to “Civil Industry Credit Management” is citing a trial regulation on credit scoring in the aviation industry, and the letter claims United’s labeling of Taiwan is equal to “serious dishonesty” under that regulation, said Samantha Hoffman, visiting fellow at the Mercator Institute for China Studies.
“China’s domestic law, in this case on civil aviation credit and cybersecurity, allow China to extend something like ‘social credit’ beyond its own borders,” she said. 

“It demonstrates why any interpretation of the social credit system must be placed in the context of China’s definitions of state security. And state security is about protecting the Chinese Communist Party above all else.”
Moreover, the Chinese letter mischaracterizes U.S. government policy by saying “the one-China policy of your government.” 

The United States does not have a one-China policy. 

Washington acknowledges Beijing’s position that there is one China that includes Taiwan and the United States takes no stance on that question. 

The U.S. government is not going to agree that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China, and neither should American companies.
The White House statement defends the principle that American private companies must have freedom in their interactions with their customers and not be pressured into taking the political positions of an authoritarian foreign power.
“The United States strongly objects to China’s attempts to compel private firms to use specific language of a political nature in their publicly available content,” the White House statement says. 

“We call on China to stop threatening and coercing American carriers and citizens.”
This is one more example of the Trump’s administration’s continuing shift toward a more assertive stance, said Peter Mattis, a former U.S. intelligence analyst on China. 

But American businesses have yet to stand up to Chinese pressure and interference. 

United declined to comment. 

Delta Air Lines and British Airways have already partially succumbed to the Chinese demands.
“The danger is less the squeeze on Taiwan and more the clear proof that China’s social management system will be used to condition companies and people outside China to align behind the party’s positions,” said Mattis. 

“The cost of doing business has been raised.”
The Chinese Communist Party can be forgiven for believing it can use a version of its social credit system on American companies. 

Nobody has pushed back on this so far. 

The White House is pledging to start doing that now. 

It’s a recognition that, as a White House official told me, “China is out of control.”