White House Terms Chinese Warning to US Airlines: “Orwellian Nonsense”
Jeff Edwards May 07, 2018
China’s rebuke of airlines, including several US-based carriers, for referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as independent states, has been met with ridicule by Trump administration officials.
Chinese officials would like very much for everyone around the world to recognize the semi-autonomous (and in some cases independent) states of Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong as a permanent part of the People’s Republic of China. For companies doing business in China, this is more of a demand than a request. The Chinese government recently sent a warning to airlines around the world reminding the carriers that Hong Kong, Macau and the “rogue state” of Taiwan are part of China and should be referred to as such in all literature, advertising and online information.
The admonishment from the Chinese government directed at private U.S. companies did not go unnoticed by Trump administration officials. The White House issued a stern and at times mocking response to the move by China.
“President Donald J. Trump ran against political correctness in the United States,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in the strongly worded statement issued on Saturday. “He will stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens. On April 25, the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration sent a letter to 36 foreign air carriers, including a number of American carriers. This notice demanded that carriers change how ‘Taiwan,’ ‘Hong Kong,’ and ‘Macau’ are identified on their websites and in their promotional material so that the references fall in line with the Communist Party’s standards. This is Orwellian nonsense and part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies.”
Chinese officials did not back away from their demands on foreign airlines. The Chinese government soon issued a statement of their own categorically rejecting the assertions from the U.S.
“No matter what the United States says, it can not change the objective fact that there is only one China in the world and that Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are indivisible parts of Chinese territory,” spokesman Geng Shuang wrote in an official published response to the comments this week from the White House.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
You’re Reading
If Hong Kong is an "integral" part of China, how come when I visit Hong Kong I cannot enter the rest of China just because I was able to enter Hong Kong? The If Hong Kong were identified as part of China, people would assume there's a totally open border between Hong Kong and China proper. But it's "one country, two systems" which is hard explain in a branding, and that's why it's simpler for Hong Kong not to be identified as part of China in travel stuff.
You have to admit, no one knows as much about Orwellian nonsense as Trump.
I wonder whether Mr. Trump forgot that that the US fails to acknowledge the Republic of China (aka Taiwan) as an independent state. Hong Kong and Macao are without any doubt integral parts of the Peoples Republic of China (aka Mainland).
Yes, and that China is ruled from Taipei not Beijing!