China strongly condemned by MOFA for forcing foreign firms, airlines to change Taiwan’s...

2018/05/29

China’s bullying and pressure tactics aimed at forcing foreign companies and airlines to change the designation of Taiwan on their websites to “Taiwan, China” is strongly condemned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
 Such actions denigrate the dignity and sovereignty of Taiwan, the MOFA said May 26. They also impinge upon the rights of overseas firms and carriers to trade with their customers in a free and open manner, the ministry added.
 
 According to the MOFA, China wrote to 60 international airlines between January and April demanding they change references to Taiwan as a country on their websites. Taiwan’s embassies and representative offices in the carriers’ headquartered countries are holding discussions with relevant officials and reiterating the government’s stance on the matter, the ministry said.
 
 The MOFA urges all airlines to defend their right to conduct business in a free and open manner, and not risk their reputations by bowing to Beijing in denigrating Taiwan’s dignity and sovereignty.
 
 According to the ministry, China’s strategy is self-defeating and only serves to rankle the people of Taiwan. Such behavior also threatens the peaceful development of cross-strait ties and drives a wedge between the two sides, the MOFA said.
 
 It also directly contradicts claims by Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping that that the people of Taiwan and China are “all one family” and should work to “build a bridge between their hearts and souls,” the ministry added.
 
 No attempt by Beijing can change the fact that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is an independent, sovereign state, the MOFA said, adding that the global community must stand as one in rejecting China’s despicable conduct and poorly conceived attempts to interfere with normal business practices.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=2&post=135147)