'Taiwan Will Not Bow To Pressure,' Taipei Government Says After China Forces Airlines To Drop Taiwan From Websites

The government in Taipei has expressed its determination to stand up to China after 44 airlines bowed to pressure from Beijing and stopped listing Taiwan as a separate country.

On July 25 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) newspaper People's Daily announced that American Airlines, United, Delta, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific as well as forty other airlines had complied with a request filed by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on April 25 to list Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as part of Chinese territory.

Embed from Getty Images

American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson told the BBC that the company was implementing changes to address China's request. "Air travel is global business, and we abide by the rules in countries where we operate," she stated.

In a written statement Cathay Pacific explained that as an airline registered and based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) it "must comply with the regulations and requirements of the relevant civil aviation authorities."

The PRC claims that Taiwan is part of its territory, despite never having ruled or controlled it. Taiwan and outlying islands are currently administered by the Republic of China (ROC), the state founded in 1912 in China after the overthrow of the last imperial dynasty. The ROC was defeated by Mao Zedong's Communists in 1949 and its government relocated to Taiwan.

Lin Ho-ming (林鶴明), a spokesperson for Taiwan's Presidential Office, said that in spite of being "a close neighbour of the world's largest Communist country and subject to its relentless pressure, it holds on to its deep love for freedom and democracy (自由民主的熱愛)."

He pointed out that Taiwan is an economic powerhouse that is integrated into the global system and is founded upon universal values. "No attempt to change our name on the internet will erase our country from the world," Lin said, adding that "the people of Taiwan will absolutely never bow to pressure, and will never sacrifice their ideal of freedom and the welfare of the next generation."

Lin called on the international community to face squarely "China's increasingly out-of-control behaviour," to defend the values of freedom and democracy, as well as the safety and stability of the international community.

Comments

The Window Trick of Las Vegas Hotels

When I lived in Hong Kong I often passed by a residential apartment complex commonly known as the " monster building ". " Interior of the Yick Cheong Building November 2016 " by Nick-D is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 . _____

Living in Taiwan: Seven Reasons Why It's Good to Be Here

Chinese New Year can be a pretty boring time for a foreigner. All of my friends were celebrating with their families, and since I have no family here, nor have I a girlfriend whose family I could join, I had nothing special to do. Shops and cafes were closed - apart from big chains like McDonald's or Starbucks, which were overcrowded anyway. So I had a lot of time to think. On Saturday evening I went out to buy my dinner. While I was walking around, I heard the voices of the people inside their homes, the sounds of their New Year celebrations. Then I suddenly asked myself: "What on earth are you doing here? Why are you still in Taiwan?" Before I came to Taiwan, some Taiwanese friends of mine had recommended me their country, highly prasing it and going so far as to say that Taiwan is a "paradise for foreigners" (bear in mind that when I say foreigners I mean 'Westerners'). "It's easy for foreigners to find a job," t...

Is China's MINISO Copying Japan's MUJI, UNIQLO and Daiso?

Over the past few years Japanese retailers such as UNIQLO and MUJI have conquered foreign markets, opening shops in cities such as Paris, Berlin or New York and becoming household names in several countries. But the success of their business model seems to have inspired people with dubious intentions. As the website Daliulian recently showed, a new chain called MINISO, which claims to be a Japanese company selling ‘100% Japanese products’, seems to be nothing more than a knock-off of UNIQLO, MUJI and Daiso, copying their logos, names and even the layout of their stores. The company’s webpage proudly announces – in terrible English – that “ MINISO is a fast fashion designer brand of Japan. Headquartered in Tokyo Japan, Japanese young designer Miyake Jyunya is founder as well as the chief designer of MINISO, a pioneer in global 'Fashion & Casual Superior Products' field. ” According to the company’s homepage, MINISO advocates the philosophy of a simple, ...

Macau: Gambling, Corruption, Prostitution, and Fake Worlds

As I mentioned in my previous post , Macau has different faces and identities: there is the old Macau, full of colonial buildings and in which the pace of life seems to resemble a relaxed Mediterranean town rather than a bustling, hectic Chinese city, such as Hong Kong or Shanghai. On the other hand, there is the Macau of gambling, of gigantic hotel and casino resorts, and of prostitution. These two Macaus seem to be spatially separated from each other, with an intact colonial city centre and nice outskirts with small alleys on the one side, and bombastic, modern buildings on the other. The Galaxy - one of the huge casino and hotel resorts The Importance of Gambling for Macau's Economy Dubbed the 'Monte Carlo of the East', Macau has often been portrayed as the gambling capital of China. Media reporting on Macau tend present pictures of the city's glistening, apparently luxurious skyline. But a visit in Macau suffices to realize that it is fa...

Trip to Tainan

Tainan Train Station Last weekend I made a one day trip to the Southern Taiwanese city of Tainan (Chinese: 臺南, pinyin: Táinán), the former capital and one of the most important centres of culture, history and architecture of the island. This blog post is also intended as a special thank to Grace, a Taiwanese friend who was so kind to show me around, and very patient, too. Since Tainan doesn't have an extensive public transport net, Grace picked me up at the train station with her motorcycle, a vehicle that, along with cars, is regarded by locals as indispensable for living comfortably in Tainan. To my great embarrassment, though, I had to admit that I cannot ride a motorcycle. That's why we had to take busses to move around. It was the first time she ever took a bus in Tainan. And now I know why: busses come more or less every half an hour, and service stops early in the evening. No wonder Tainanese snob public transport. Grace had no idea about the routes and about whe...

Schedium

Search This Blog