Air Canada continues to list Taiwan as 'China' under 2018 Beijing directive
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — Beijing forcing world airlines to dismiss Taiwanese sovereignty as a condition of allowing service to Chinese airports is part of the communist regime’s efforts of economic coercion, Taiwan’s ambassador to Canada tells the Toronto Sun .
This comes after recent social media uproar renewed concerns over Air Canada’s continued tendency to list Taiwanese airports as being in mainland China — a move that falls in line with Beijing’s “One China” policy, which eschews Taiwan’s rightful claims of sovereignty and considers the island nation a “renegade state” and an immutable part of China.
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Book flights through partner airlines
While Air Canada currently operates no direct flights to Taiwan, their website and smartphone app allows customers to book flights through its partner airlines.
Attempting to book a flight to Taiwanese airports via Air Canada’s booking portal, however, lists the sovereign nation of Taiwan as being in “China.”
That’s even the case when you access Air Canada’s servers via the airline’s regionalized, Chinese-language site for Taiwan — which lists the country’s main airport, Taiwan Taoyuan International — as being in 中國 (China) instead of 台灣 (Taiwan).
The same goes for Taiwan’s other international airports in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
What Air Canada says of the decision
When contacted by the Sun , an Air Canada spokesperson admitted their denial of Taiwanese sovereignty was a business decision imposed upon them by Beijing.
“Air Canada currently does not fly to Taiwan, but we offer our customers service there through our partners,” the statement read.
“In 2018, the Government of the People’s Republic of China notified airlines around the world that they must comply with their requirement regarding the designation of Taiwan in order to do business in China, and most airlines operating to the region have done so.”
Indeed, China’s Civil Aviation Administration dispatched letters to 36 airlines around the world in 2018 demanding they remove references to Taiwan as a sovereign nation
While the White House dismissed Beijing’s demands at the time as “Orwellian nonsense” and accused the communist regime of imposing its political will on American corporations, the Justin Trudeau Liberals refused to take a stand on China’s demands.
Speaking on issue in the House of Commons in 2018 , former Foreign Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland said Canadian companies “should be able to operate their websites without political interference,” but also said “private companies are responsible for the content of their websites.”
Canada trying for diplomatic reset with China
Air travel between Canada and China has always been a diplomatic tightrope.
In the wake of the diplomatic deep-freeze between the countries — and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent trade mission to Beijing — Canada announced a new deal to boost passenger and cargo routes with China.
This new deal, however, still remains a strictl policed expansion rather than an “open skies” treaty — particularly with western airlines denied access to Russian airspace.
Chinese-based airlines, however, have no such restrictions — allowing them access to the shorter and cheaper Siberian flight routes denied to western airlines.
China bullying the world
Harry Tseng, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Canada, told the Sun it’s another example of Beijing bullying the world to bow to their wishes.
“This is another form of the People’s Republic of China’s economic coercion, forcing companies to comply or else lose business in China,” Tseng said.
“The more China presses, the stronger the resistance. No matter who China tries to intimidate, the reality remains that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other.”