According to news reports, multinational hotel chain Marriott International Inc listed Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Tibet as “separate countries” in an online customer questionnaire and this triggered the Chinese government to order that Marriott shut down its Chinese Web site and mobile application for a week as punishment. The hotel giant has by now issued three apologies for its mistake.
The US’ Delta Air Lines was also called out by the Chinese government for listing Taiwan and Tibet as separate countries. However, after its executives were summoned, the airline continued to list Taiwan, Thailand and Japan as separate countries in the Asia-Pacific region on its official Web site.
This time, there was no China in the country list, as the country’s name was instead replaced by the Chinese word for “porcelain” (瓷器). Was Delta Air Lines making an American-style joke or was it just a careless mistake that surely will further infuriate China? It makes one curious to see what is going to happen next.
Seeing foreign airlines and other businesses that make their livings in China listing Taiwan as a separate country makes China hopping mad as it urges these companies to publish apologies, alter their content and make immediate amendments. Is China going nuts? The answer, of course, is no.
The territory of China — which claims to have a 5,000-year-long history — has been subject to constant changes throughout the different dynasties. Dynasties aside, the demarcation of its territory has also undergone significant changes even within single dynasties. Taiwan was Chinese territory for only 211 years — under the rule of the Qing dynasty — and China’s claims over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and the South China Sea are even weaker.
Even though this is a historical fact, China keeps lying through its teeth by claiming that Taiwan, the Diaoyutai Islands and the South China Sea have belonged to China since ancient times. Such claims show that China is not crazy, but dull and a scoundrel.
It is undeniable that it places Taiwan in a difficult situation internationally, as foreign airlines and other businesses one after the other bow to the Chinese yuan. There is very little that Taiwan can do about this. However, as the saying goes, “a noble man makes his fortune in a noble way.”
The University of Texas at Austin, for example, afraid that its campus was being infiltrated by the Chinese government, knew to reject a proposed donation from the Hong Kong-based China United States Exchange Foundation, whose chairman, former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華), also serves as vice chairman in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Some food manufacturers in Taiwan that export their products to China, on the other hand, are absolutely undignified in marking their products as “made in Taiwan, China” as long as they can make a profit by selling their merchandise to China. Now, China has drawn another red line, requesting that Taiwanese manufacturers mark their products as made in the “Taiwan Area” or in “Taiwan Area, China.”
If President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government does not set its own red lines and chooses to turn a blind eye to those businesses, such firms will not only sell their products, they will also sell out Taiwan’s sovereignty and national dignity.
Chang Kuo-tsai is a retired associate professor at National Hsinchu University of Education and a former deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Chang Ho-ming
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with