The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is mulling international litigation after more global airlines have succumbed to Chinese pressure and improperly listed Taiwan as being part of China.
The ministry is doing everything possible to safeguard the nation’s dignity and global status, including resorting to international outreach and communicating with local parliamentarians of affected nations, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
“We are also seeking legal advice regarding how to resolve the issue through legal means, but actions would only be taken after we have collected information of concrete cases and determined the object(s) of litigation,” Lee told a routine news conference.
Photo: Lu I-hsuan, Taipei Times
The ministry is studying how and against whom such legal actions should be taken, while discreetly conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the matter, Lee said.
“When the time is right, we will file an international lawsuit in the manner that is most appropriate and best benefits the nation’s interests,” Lee said, adding that the ministry does not rule out filing a complaint with the WTO on the grounds that the nation’s freedom to trade globally has been infringed upon.
Lee’s remarks came a day after Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) were discovered to have listed Taiwan as a Chinese territory when a user sets China or Hong Kong as their location, but as Taiwan from other location settings.
The two airlines had earlier this month made a similar change on all versions of its Web sites after the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration in late April wrote to 44 international airlines telling them to list Taiwan as a Chinese territory by May 25, or face consequences.
They then changed it back after protests from Taiwan.
An ANA spokesman said the change was intended to make the description “easy to understand and acceptable for customers when they use our Web sites.”
“We do not mean any particular group of customers here, but mean all customers,” he said without elaborating.
Japan’s ties with China are improving after years of acrimony over historical and territorial issues.
Japan has close business ties with Taiwan, but has acknowledged the “one China” policy, which describes the nation as an integral part of China.
Asked about the change, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo was “not in favor of government authorities demanding certain measures from private companies based on a specific political stance.”
According to China’s Global Times, the administration has extended the deadline to July 25, after 26 of the targeted airlines requested an extension, citing technical reasons.
Lee yesterday also dismissed an article published by the Financial Times on Monday, which said that Taiwan would “encourage its citizens to boycott airlines that list the island as a Chinese territory on their Web sites.”
The article based its conclusion on a quote from National Security Council Secretary-General David Lee (李大維), who said: “We will tell our people: ‘Those are the airlines that caved in to China, it is your choice [whether to use them].’”
“I did not see from David Lee’s remarks that he was urging the people to boycott these airlines,” Andrew Lee said, adding that the ministry has been monitoring more than 100 international airlines since China issued the letter, with most of them still retaining Taiwan’s “proper title.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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