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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Opinion -> 
One-China principle not a nominal term
    2018-07-23  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

Winton Dong

dht0620@126.com

THERE is only one China, and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao have always been and will remain inalienable parts of it. This fact is widely accepted all over the world. The one-China principle is also the cornerstone for China’s diplomacy. All countries that have set up formal diplomatic relations with China promise to stick to the principle.

However, for many years while running and expanding business in China, some foreign companies haven’t attached much importance to the principle. For instance, after being criticized by the Chinese Government earlier this year, the Marriot Group of hotels shut down its Chinese website and mobile apps for a week to rectify its mistake of putting “Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Tibet” in a pull-down list of countries.

Marriot is not the only foreign multinational company to do so. Famous U.S. clothing retailer Gap, Spanish luxury brand Zara and U.S.-based medical instrument manufacturer Medtronic have also recently apologized for referring to Taiwan as a country or omitting Taiwan in the map of China.

In my point of view, aviation is surely the most rampant industry to go against the principle. At the beginning of this year, the U.S.-based carrier Delta was found to have listed Taiwan and Tibet as countries in a drop-down menu in an online comments section. A thorough check made by Chinese authorities has found out that a total of 44 foreign aviation companies operating in China have mistakenly referred to Taiwan as a country.

On April 25 this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sent an official statement to all the 44 foreign carriers, demanding them to review their websites, apps and promotional materials, and correct their mistakes to ensure that no parts of Chinese territories are incorrectly labeled as countries, as such practice is a blatant violation of Chinese laws and goes against the one-China policy.

According to the administration, the rectification should have been finished within a month of May 25. Failure to comply with the directive 30 days after the statement was sent out would lead to punishment under Chinese jurisdiction. Media reports have shown that Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways, Finnair, Asiana Airlines, Philippine Airlines and some other aviation companies have already changed the way they refer to Taiwan, indicating clearly the island is part of China and bringing their global websites in line with Chinese law within the time limit. Due to technical reasons, some other foreign companies, which have promised to make the changes, applied for the implementation to be delayed until July 25 this year. It is said that their applications have been approved by China.

The one-China principle should not be a nominal term for the Taiwan leadership. Since taking office in May 2016, Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen has turned a blind eye to the principle. She has also been promoting “de-sinicization” campaigns on the island. Her separatist pursuit has seriously hurt the feelings of Chinese people all over the world and forced China to take decisive actions to safeguard territorial integrity.

The one-China principle should not be a nominal term for foreign companies either. With the implementation of the negative list system, foreign investments are quite free in China now, but such freedom is not limitless and should be exercised within the framework of laws. While doing business and earning money in China, all foreign companies should respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by its laws and respect the national sentiment of the Chinese people.

With the deadline of the grace period drawing near, I hope that the CAAC can not only safeguard the legitimate rights of foreign airlines to offer transportation services in China, but also closely follow and watch the airlines that have not yet finished the rectification.

(The author is the editor-in-chief of the Shenzhen Daily with a Ph.D. from the Journalism and Communication School of Wuhan University.)

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