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Last year, some of the world's largest airlines changed their websites one by one to qualify Taiwan for anything but an independent country. When pbadengers opened country-specific pages or menus, they often found the Western Pacific Island linked to China. Every change angered the Taiwanese, who have enjoyed de facto autonomy since the 1940s even though China claims that the island belongs to its flag.
China is now pressuring 66 multinationals to do the same. Every change, including that of many Taiwanese consumer-oriented businesses, should spark a new wave of anger.
This cycle will exacerbate Sino-Taiwanese relations that have gradually deteriorated since mid-2016 as a result of a dispute between senior officials on how to conduct negotiations. China, which is more powerful, is already carrying an aircraft carrier on a regular basis near Taiwan and is appealing to Taiwan's diplomatic allies to boost its capabilities.
"The Taiwanese public can not, of course, agree to say that Taiwan's name needs to be changed to China Taiwan," said Lee Chun-yee, a Taipei legislator. "For China, it serves no purpose for the future of relations."
Name change
China said in its 2018 Blue Book on the Rule of Law that the 66 multinationals, which are among the 500 largest companies in the world, should change their reference to Taiwan, said Thursday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan in a statement. The Blue Book threatens to punish companies that do not comply, the ministry said.
Targeted companies include Apple, Nike and Siemens, the ministry said.
Companies can link Taiwan to China on store websites and menus to choose a place of business. They are expected to eventually comply in order to protect their market share.
The share of smartphones Apple has already decreased last year compared to the competition of local brands. Wider China has been Nike's main market for growth in 2018 after a 35% increase in sales, and Siemens is establishing itself as one of China's largest foreign investment companies.
Multinationals will "of course" make the changes, said Liang Kuo-yuan, chairman of the Taipei Polaris Research Institute research organization.
He added that they could simply act slower than the airlines, he added, if "warmongering" elements of the US government are increasingly relying on China, which is already struggling with the trade with the United States.
Despite protests from foreign governments, including the United States, most of the 44 airlines targeted last year met China's deadline of July 25 to change its "Taiwan" credentials. At the top of its Chinese flight booking website for Taiwanese pbadengers, for example, Qantas Airways calls the location "China Taiwan."
Airlines that did not comply with this rule were likely to lose ground in China's aviation market, which is expected to outpace the United States as the world's largest market by 2024.
Apple, Nike and Siemens refused to comment last week on their intentions against the pressure exerted by China.
Resentment in Taiwan
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the Chinese Civil War of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists were beaten by Communists and resettled on the island. China insists that the two sides eventually unite, but opinion polls in Taiwan show that most people prefer today's autonomy, which includes 30 years of democracy.
"These companies are not government organizations, so having them express their point of view on a political issue is certainly not conducive to the recognition of the Taiwanese people or the image of China," he said. Andy Chang, professor of Chinese studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan.
Whenever a reputable company modifies its website to badert that Taiwan is not self-sufficient, the Chinese can rejoice while their peers in Taiwan are venting themselves.
Joanna Lei, chief executive of Taiwan-based think tank Chunghua 21st Century, has already shared her reactions online.
"They started telling Taiwan that the words were really dirty and were causing hatred across the Taiwan Strait, and that's the real danger," Lei said.
Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a project that unifies Taiwan with China but gives the island some local autonomy. Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-wen, later rejected this idea as well as Beijing's requirement that both sides sit for talks as parts of one China.
In its statement, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry accused China of "ill-will."
"The Foreign Ministry strongly condemns China for its outrageous demands and urges the press not to take any other measures to undermine the feelings of the Taiwanese people and the amicable development of … relations ", the statement said.
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