Power Play

US airlines have submitted to China’s demand that they label Taiwan as part of China rather than a separate country. China has pulled a power play. Taiwan is separate in government, economics and culture. Nothing can change that, and the longer the country is apart from the mainland, the more distinct it becomes. Unfortunately, because of China’s political and economic might, few are willing to buck the government, whether airlines or other countries. Taiwan has become a non-entity on the international scene. It’s there, but it’s not. It exports products, but it gets no recognition for doing so. From a communications perspective, the country is in a long lasting bind. At some point, China is determined to take over the island, but it isn’t ready to risk condemnation from the world community for doing so. So it waits and applies pressure on everyone to call Taiwan a mainland Chinese territory. It is a terrible position for Taiwan to be in.