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China wants to dictate how foreign airlines refer to Taiwan and the US is having none of it — this is how every major airline is responding
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Taiwan says it's a democratic, self-ruled country in East Asia.
China disagrees.
Under the "One China" policy, Beijing considers Taiwan to be a
province of China, one that will eventually be fully reunified -
by force, if necessary. China is adamant about this and
frequently seeks to assert its claim to Taiwan on the global
stage.
In order to prevent international recognition of Taiwan as a
country - which could diminish China's claim to it - the
government even demands countries with which it has diplomatic
ties to
cut relations with Taiwan.
And now China has set its sights on a new target: foreign
airlines.
On April 25, the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) of China
ordered a number of international airlines, including several
from the US, to change how Taiwan is described on their websites
and promotional material.
The US State Department confirmed to Business Insider airlines
received the letter and said it had raised "strong concerns" with
Chinese authorities in Beijing about the order.
"Regarding websites, we object to Beijing dictating how U.S.
firms, including airlines, organize their websites for ease of
consumer use. Chinese companies' websites operate freely and
without political interference in the United States," a State
Department official told Business Insider.
The agency also said it "will consider taking appropriate action
if necessary in response to unfair Chinese actions."
But this is not the first time China has tried to exert its
influence over foreign companies. Earlier this year, the hotel
chain Marriott was
forced to shut down the Chinese version of its website for a
week. The fast-fashion retailer, Zara, was ordered to complete a
"self-inspection" and turn in a rectification report for listing
certain areas as countries. China's territorial claims to Taiwan
have gradually become a confusing and diplomatically-fraught
issue for foreign companies, and now air carriers. Keep scrolling
to see how major airlines are dealing with China's attempts to
get foreign countries to comply with its view that Taiwan is part
of China:
American Airlines: Taiwan is a sovereign country
American Airlines confirmed to Business Insider it received
the letter from China's Civil Aviation Administration last
month.
The airline, which lists Taiwan as a country on its booking
drop-down lists, said it is "reviewing" the letter.
Last year American Airlines became a
minority shareholder in China's largest carrier, China
Southern.
Delta Airlines: Taiwan is a region
In January this year,
Delta Air Lines was censured by China's Civil Aviation
Administration for listing both Taiwan and Tibet as countries on
its website. The agency demanded an "immediate and public
apology."
The airline responded by saying it had made a "grave mistake"
"Delta recognizes the seriousness of this issue and we took
immediate steps to resolve it," the company
said in a statement.
"It was an inadvertent error with no business or political
intention, and we apologize deeply for the mistake. As one of our
most important markets, we are fully committed to China and to
our Chinese customers."
Following the incident the company changed its destination list
from being called "Country" to "Country/Region."
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United Airlines: Taiwan is a country
When contacted by Business Insider, United Airlines referred
questions to the US State Department.
But
Foreign Policy reported the company did in fact receive a
letter from China's aviation agency.
United is a big player on the US-China route with the airline
providing one in five of all flights.
Last year when
video of aviation officers dragging a passenger off a
flight went viral, Chinese state-run media warned the
incident could affect local sales.
British Airways: Taiwan is a province of China
After the Delta Air Lines incident in January, the the Civil
Aviation Agency reportedly
summoned 25 foreign-airline representatives to demand each
company remove any reference of Taiwan as a country from their
websites and apps.
In February, British Airways, the UK's flagship carrier, began
listing the airport in Taipei as being in the country of
"Taiwan
(China)," with the word "China"placed in parentheses. But
after it received a number of complaints in March, British
Airways reportedlyreversed
its position and apologized to
individuals who had contacted the airline.
Yet, on British Airways' website this week the listing is "Taiwan
- China," with the two countries' names separated by a dash.
For this to be the case, British Airways either did not reverse
its position in March or did make the change but then swapped
back to the name Beijing prefers.
When asked about the flip-flop, British Airways told Business
Insider, "We always meet our obligations under
international law."
The company did not rule out further changes though, adding
it "regularly make changes" to its website.
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Around the same time that Delta Air Lines was reprimanded over
its classification of Taiwan, Qantas found a similar
"oversight" during a regular review of its own site that listed
some Chinese territories, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau,
as countries.
"We are correcting this error," a Qantas spokesperson told
Business Insider at the time.
It is currently unknown whether Qantas ever corrected this
"error," if it was only changed on some areas of its site, or if
the regions were changed to territories of China and then back
again.
Singapore Airlines: Taiwan is a country
Singapore Airlines flies to Taipei, which it lists only as being
in "Taiwan."
When asked if it received a letter from the Civil Aviation
Administration in China, Singapore Airlines confirmed it had
received Business Insider's questions and would respond
"once we have something to share."
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Etihad Airways: Taiwan is China
The United Arab Emirates' national airline has an unusual
arrangement for describing Taiwan.
When booking flights on the airlines' homepage, Taiwan is not
listed as a country nor province.
In the case of major Taiwanese cities Taichung and
Kaohsiung, they are "Taichung, Taichung Airport,
China" and "Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung Airport, China."
The only time Taiwan is listed in the drop-down menu is
when it is when the consumer manually types it in. In this event,
the capital city of Taipei is effectively replaced by the
island's name, and is listed as, "Taiwan, Taipei Airport,
China."
Etihad did not respond to a request for comment.
AirAsia: There are no countries
AirAsia's booking form doesn't list countries or regions aside
from destination cities, which apparently keeps the airline out
of tricky situations.
The Kuala Lumpur-based airline said it would investigate
the issue with its head office and comply with local regulations
in Taiwan. The aviation agency in Taiwan also said it wanted the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise the issue with Malaysia's
government.
It appears AirAsia has resolved the issue by removing all
country and region names from airport listings.
AirAsia did not respond to questions sent by Business Insider
about this changing position.
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Malaysia Airlines: Taiwan is a place called "Taiwan-China"
Taiwan's official name is the Republic of China; that's the name
Malaysia Airlines used to use to promote the country as a
holiday destination.
According to Taiwan, the
Republic of China (ROC) was founded in mainland China in 1912.
But in 1949, the ROC government relocated to the island of Taiwan
during a civil war with the Chinese Communist Party, which now
rules the mainland.
By using the term "Republic of China," Malaysia Airlines
acknowledged Taiwan as an individual country and also uses
"Taiwan" as the country in its booking form.
While it was reported that British Airways reversed its decision,
Lufthansa did not.
As a result, Taiwan's envoy to Germany
wrote to Lufthansa and two other German companies,
Mercedes-Benz and Bosch, asking them to stop calling Taiwan part
of China.
"These companies have apparently come under heavy pressure from
Beijing, as China has been flexing its muscle toward Taiwan
around the globe," Shieh Jhy-wey, Taiwan's representative to
Germany, said. "However, this is something that we cannot accept
and we have demanded a correction from these companies."
Lufthansa still uses "Taiwan, China." Here's how it explained its
decision to Business Insider.
"As a company operating globally, Lufthansa considers general
laws, regulations, local customs and practices in markets we
serve when designing online interfaces to customers. This
includes taking customs of the international clientele into
consideration. In view of this, Lufthansa has decided to use the
applied terms."
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Cathay Pacific: Taiwan is a country/region
Intriguingly, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific confirmed to
Business Insider it only uses the term "Country/Region" across
its websites.
Hong Kong's relationship to China can be controversial at times.
It, along with Macau, is a Special Administrative Region of
China. So Hong Kong is technically autonomous and has its own
government.
But Beijing's relationship with the three regions, as of March
this year, is now run out of the same office - The
Department of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs.
Of all airlines, Cathay Pacific likely has the most experience in
dealing with China's sensitivities to territories it claims as
its own.
The airline's global network flies to Taipei and the company
lists the airport as being in "Taiwan."
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The company has yet to respond to questions sent by Business
Insider, but it wouldn't be surprising if the Montreal-based
airline had received a letter from China's Civil Aviation
Administration considering it was also sent to US and Australian
carriers that used similar language.
The day after the CAA letter was sent, a spokesperson from the
Chinese Embassy in Canada said a recent motion passed by the
country's senators condemning Beijing's actions in the South
China Sea will "stir
up troubles."
Air France: Taiwan is a country
Air France flew its first code-share flight between Taipei
and Paris with Taiwan's China Airlines on April 16.
The French airline also lists Taiwan as a country on its
site.
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron,
speaking alongside Australia's prime minister, said it was
important for the Asia Pacific to "not
have any hegemony in the region."
Business Insider is waiting for responses to questions sent
to the airline's head office.
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Garuda, Indonesia: Taiwan is China
Garuda follows a similar naming convention as Etihad, using China
as the country without mentioning Taiwan.
The one Taiwanese destination on the Indonesian air carrier's
site - "Taipei, Taiwan Taoyuan International
Airport, China" - only includes Taiwan because it is
the official name of the capital city's airport.
Garuda did not respond to questions sent by Business Insider.
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