The government will continue protesting to Google Inc over its description of Taiwan as a "province of China" until the mistake is corrected, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) said yesterday.
Chen made his remark in response to comments by Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator David Huang (
The description of Taiwan as a "province of China" used on Google's map service incurred criticism, with the TSU legislative caucus launching a letter campaign and MOFA instructing its US representative office to ask Google for a correction.
According to Google's Web site, Google Maps provides users with data such as business locations and driving directions.
As Google has refused to make the correction on the grounds that the description is consistent with international naming conventions, such as those followed by the UN, Chen restated the government's position on the matter at Huang's request.
"The Republic of China is a state with independent sovereignty. Its sovereignty belongs to the 23 million people of Taiwan. Google's description is inconsistent with the international situation," Chen said.
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