China says: I am the Captain now

CHINA has hit back after the US criticised as “Orwellian nonsense” its demand that foreign airlines not refer to Taiwan as its own country.

China’s Civil Aviation Administration demanded last week that 36 foreign carriers, including Qantas, not refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau as countries separate from China.

The White House reacted angrily to the directive, urging China “to stop threatening and coercing American carriers and citizens”.

Beijing has dismissed the White House’s jab, saying companies operating in China must respect the nation’s sovereignty.

“Whatever the US says will never change the objective fact that there is only one China in the world and the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan regions are an inalienable part of China’s territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement posted online on Sunday.

“Foreign enterprises operating in China should respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China’s law and respect the national sentiment of the Chinese people,” Mr Geng said.

President Xi Jinping’s government has been increasingly assertive about its claims to Taiwan, which it has threatened to invade to bring under its control.

Delta Air Lines, hotel operator Marriott, fashion brand Zara and other companies have apologised to China for referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet as countries on websites or promotional material.

The White House on Saturday condemned China’s efforts to control how US airlines referred to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, saying the push to make them comply with Chinese standards was “Orwellian nonsense”.

China’s Civil Aviation Administration has demanded the change from 36 foreign carriers, including Qantas, according to the White House.

Failing Cheeto-Faced Ferret-Wearing Shit Gibbon would “stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens”, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.