Expressing “deep concern” over Air India becoming the latest international airline to abandon Taiwan’s designation as a nation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that the relevant Indian government agencies support corporations facing pressure from Beijing.
Upon discovering that the listing for Taiwan had been changed to “Taipei, Taoyuan International Airport, TPE, Chinese Taipei” on Air India’s online reservation service, the ministry immediately instructed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India to lobby New Delhi to revert the change, ministry spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said at a news conference in Taipei.
“We will continue to follow developments in this case to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty,” Lee said.
Screengrab from the Web site of Air India
“The ministry once again calls on the international community to stand up to the Chinese government’s abuse of political power and its peremptory measures with inappropriate intentions to meddle in the independent operations of enterprises in various countries,” he said.
Lee also called on the international community to uphold its dignity and principles by resisting Beijing’s unreasonable demands.
Air India is the flag carrier of India and is operated by state-owned Air India Ltd. It operates flights to 37 international destinations, including stops in Taipei made possible through a code-share agreement with EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空).
The Times of India yesterday quoted an Air India spokesperson as saying that the carrier was following instructions from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to change Taiwan to “Chinese Taipei” on its Web site.
The Chinese Civil Aviation Administration on April 25 sent a letter to 44 international airlines requesting that they change references to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau on their Web sites and in other company materials within 30 days, or suffer repercussions for “serious discreditable conduct.”
More than 20 airlines have since changed their listings of Taiwan to “Chinese Taipei” or “Taipei, CN,” including British Airways, Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, Delta Airlines, Qantas and Air Canada, while others have requested an extension until July 25.
China has slapped fines on global retailers for recognizing Taiwan as a nation, including a 200,000 yuan (US$30,147) penalty on Japanese retailer Muji in April.
Other companies, including Marriott International Inc and clothing company Zara, have issued apologies for listing Taiwan as a nation on their Web sites.
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