Major U.S. airlines on Wednesday dropped references to Taiwan on their websites in order to meet Chinese demands that the Trump administration has labeled “Orwellian nonsense.”
The Chinese government previously gave carriers like Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines until Wednesday to adjust how they list Taiwan on booking websites to indicate that the island — which Beijing considers its territory — is part of China.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders previously called the demand “Orwellian nonsense” and a State Department official recently said it objects to Beijing dictating how U.S. firms operate. The official said the department has urged partner governments to join the U.S. in resisting China’s demands.
Despite that, the major U.S. carriers dropped direct references to Taiwan in advance of the Wednesday deadline. American Airlines, for example, now lists the destination as “TPE – Taoyuan International,” which refers to capital city Taipei’s main airport. United also changed its reference to “Taipei (TPE – Taoyuan),” and Delta adjusted its to “Taipei (TPE).”
Spokespersons for the White House and the State Department did not respond to request for comment.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry “most severely” condemned the use of political power to coerce private airline carriers into adjusting the description.
Many non-U.S. airlines had already made such a change to their websites after China issued its demands earlier this year.
