China has pressured overseas airlines to identify Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as being part of the same country.
China’s top aviation regulator has ordered 26 overseas airlines operating in China to refer to the self-ruled island as “Taiwan, China,” or face consequences within days.
British Airways, Finnair, Lufthansa and Air Canada are among 20 carriers that now list on their respective websites that Taiwan is a region of China.
Airlines were always expected to comply because of the size of the Chinese market.
Air Canada issued a statement saying: “Air Canada’s policy is to comply with all legal requirements in all jurisdictions to which we fly. As a business enterprise, we are not expressing a political point of view, but meeting the requirements of various governments and stakeholders to ensure compliance with all applicable laws.”
The White House has called the move “Orwellian nonsense” and it is “part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies”.
Delta, American and United have so far refused to make the change.
China has spent years trying to isolate Taiwan diplomatically.
Although Taiwan is fully self-governing, most international organisations in which China participates either refuse to grant membership to the island state or allow it to participate only as a non-state actor.
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