Taiwan has for decades operated as a self-governing and independent state. The People’s Republic of China thinks that Taiwan should rightfully be under Beijing’s control. The PRC’s “One China Policy” declares that Taiwan is not its own country, no matter what anyone else says. Its newest tactic to enforce this, and to claim control over Taiwan: leaning on big businesses loath to lose access to China’s massive and growing economy, and pressuring them to treat Taiwan as part of China.
Beginning this year, for instance, the PRC began targeting international airlines. Beijing sent letters to 44 foreign airlines demanding that Taiwan be listed as a Chinese province. Most international airlines, including Air Canada and British Airways, bent to Beijing’s will and began listing Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, as “Chinese Taipei.” United States-based carriers, with support from the White House which deemed China’s demand “Orwellian nonsense,” however, continue to list Taiwan as a destination.
China used a similar tactic against other large companies including hotel chain Marriott and clothing supplier Gap to force recognition of Taiwan as part of China. When Marriott listed Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau as separate countries independent of China, Beijing shuttered its website and booking applications for a week. Marriott apologized to China and even issued a statement condemning “separatists.” Likewise, when Gap printed a T-shirt that didn’t include Taiwan on its map of China, the company apologized and issued a statement saying that to company “respects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
China has also targeted tourism companies that operate trips to countries that maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Reportedly, last November, Beijing banned tours to Palau and the Vatican, both of which recognize Taiwan, threatening hefty fines if companies did not comply. For a tiny country like Palau (in the Pacific Ocean), the loss of Chinese tourism dollars is a huge blow which has recently forced an airline based in the country, Palau Pacific Airways, to shut down operations. Several other countries, like the Dominican Republic, have recently bent to Beijing’s will and severed official relationships with Taiwan rather than face a similar fate.
As more countries and companies give in to Beijing, the threat against Taiwanese independence grows. With fewer allies and companies willing to uphold Beijing’s preferred geopolitical reality for access to Chinese markets, Beijing has grown more forceful in its claims.
Indeed, underscoring the seriousness of China’s aggression towards Taiwan, the Chinese military conducted live fire drills this week in the East China Sea simulating combat against an area roughly comparable to Taiwan.
Although changing a destination listing on an airline drop-down menu or removing a T-shirt might not seem notable, such changes grant legitimacy to Beijing’s claims over Taiwan and embolden the Chinese government to, potentially, back up those claims with military force.
