The US Department of State on Monday expressed concern over China’s efforts to curtail Taiwan’s international space after Beijing demanded that two US airlines do not refer to Taiwan as a nation on their Web sites.
Washington-based Foreign Policy magazine last week reported that China’s Civil Aviation Administration had sent letters to United Airlines and American Airlines, asking them to follow Beijing’s restrictions against “separatism.”
“On April 27 we raised our strong concerns with Chinese authorities in Beijing regarding their order to the airlines,” the department said in a statement e-mailed to the Central News Agency. “While we seek a mutually beneficial commercial aviation relationship with China, we will consider taking appropriate action if necessary in response to unfair Chinese actions.”
Beijing demanded that the two carriers’ global operations follow China’s restrictions against “separatism,” meaning any references to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as independent nations must be removed, Foreign Policy reported.
“The strongly worded letter demands that all public-facing content, across the world, must follow Chinese law,” the report said.
Beijing asked the airlines to set a timeline to comply with the demand and threatened to refer them to “the relevant cybersecurity authorities” if they failed to do so.
“We object to Beijing dictating how US firms, including airlines, organize their Web sites for ease of consumer use,” the department said, adding that it would keep in touch with airlines and agencies.
Chinese companies’ Web sites are able to operate without political interference in the US, it added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the airlines not to give in to pressure from China.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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