Taiwan debating changing name of major airline China Airlines amid coronavirus outbreak
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Taiwan is debating changing the name of its largest airline, China Airlines, during the coronavirus outbreak over concerns that it causes confusion.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Taiwan, a self-ruled island off the coast of mainland China, is considering changing the name of its major carrier amid the coronavirus pandemic, which began in Wuhan, China, over concerns that materials shipped from Taiwan would cause confusion when sent on China Airlines planes. (Air China, meanwhile, is a major airline of mainland China.)
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Taiwan is debating changing the name of its largest airline, China Airlines, during the coronavirus outbreak over concerns that it causes confusion. China's major airline is called Air China. (SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
"When China Airlines delivered materials this time, the whole world thanked Taiwan," Taiwainese Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. "But because China Airlines has the word 'China' on its fuselage, some countries, people and pictures mistakenly thought that China had sent them the masks, causing us a lot of grief."
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Though the democratic island’s official name is the Republic of China, the pandemic has brought up identity politics and tensions between China and Taiwan, with the latter promoting independence. China considers Taiwan to be part of the country.
The call to change the airline name —and the complicated political issues between the two governments — have resurfaced during the global pandemic. Taiwan has reported only 393 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
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"It is now in the process of being studied and discussed internally with an open mind," China Airlines said in a statement to Reuters.
For now, Taiwan may be focusing on placing more symbols of Taiwan, in addition to the word “Taiwan,” on the airplanes themselves in an effort to eliminate confusion over the airline, Reuters reported.