Taiwan' is now 'Chinese Taipei' on Air India website
What's the story
National carrier Air India changed the name of Taiwan to Chinese Taipei on its website, following instructions from the government. China had raised concerns about Taiwan being described as a separate region by various airlines worldwide. An airline spokesperson said AI followed the procedure as advised by the Ministry of External Affairs in updating the airline's website with respect to changing name of Taiwan.
Details
AI describes Taiwan as 'Taipei, Taoyuan International-Airport, TPE, Chinese Taipei'
Air India operates flights to two destinations in China region, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. While Air India does not have flights to Chinese Taipei, it has a codeshare with Air China. This is the reason that this destination is listed on Air India website. Now, Air India describes Taiwan as "Taipei, Taoyuan International Airport, TPE, Chinese Taipei" on its website.
Information
What is code sharing?
Code sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence.
Formality
China sent letters to foreign airlines to change Taiwan's name
In April, the Civil Aviation Authority of China had sent out letters to various foreign airlines asking them to change the way Taiwan was referred to on their websites. Chinese tabloid Global Times carried an opinion piece titled "Indian scholars wrong in equating territory row with Taiwan status" recently. "That Air India lists Taiwan as a country goes against India's official stance," it read.
Quote
Here is an excerpt from the Global Times article
"Recognizing that there is only one China in the world, whose government is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory is the condition on which China establishes diplomatic-ties with all countries," the article read.