Any foreign company operating in the Chinese market should comply with Chinese laws and regulations, and respect and adhere to the one-China policy, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Tuesday.
Hua said this in response to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's criticism of China for asking airlines to change their websites to refer to Taiwan as a Chinese territory.
"Private companies should be free to conduct their usual business operations free from political pressure of governments," Bishop said in a statement, U.S. TV network ABC reported on Monday.
There is only one China in the world, with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao being part of the country's territory, Hua said at a daily press briefing. This is not only common sense, but also the general consensus of the international community, she noted.
"The related department's announcement shows the Chinese government's constant and firm stance of the one-China principle. Its requirement is reasonable and lawful, and definitely not so-called political interference or political pressure," she said.
On April 25, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) asked 44 foreign airlines to modify how they refer to Taiwan on their websites within 30 days.
As of May 25, the CAAC said, 18 of the airlines had made the required changes, and the remaining carriers had requested extensions of up to two months due to technical reasons.
The CAAC said that it will closely follow these airlines' rectification actions, while safeguarding foreign airlines' rights to carry out aviation business in China.
Qantas said on Monday it had decided to comply with a request from China to remove references on its websites or in other material that suggest Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao are part of countries independent from China, ABC reported.
However, American Airlines has not made changes on its website, saying it was following the direction of the U.S. government, according to ABC.
"If foreign airlines refuse to make a change, their business in the Chinese market will be impacted," Lu Zhenwang, an independent e-commerce analyst, told the Global Times. "Many Chinese will choose not to take these companies' flights," he said.
