US airlines expected to change Taiwan references as ‘One China’ D-Day looms
The ‘One China’ deadline for US airlines is almost here, requiring them to change their designation of Taiwan to ‘Taiwan, China’ with Beijing insisting there is ‘no room for negotiation.’
China is holding firm that carriers must change references to Taiwan on their websites to explicitly make it clear the restive island is part of China.
Reuters reports Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are expected to make the change by the July 25 deadline, citing multiple sources.
Delta and American are two the last major international carriers still holding out, only at the urging of the US government which slammed the demand as ‘Orwellian nonsense.’
Almost every other carrier pressured by Beijing has caved in.
China foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said it expects the airlines to follow but did not say what action Beijing will take if they do not.
Geng said the world will have to ‘wait and see.’
Despite what Geng said, it seems a compromise has in fact been reached.
A U.S. airline executive told Reuters that the U.S. State Department has urged airlines to refer to destinations by city on their Chinese and English websites, and not make any explicit reference to Taiwan.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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