White House blasts request from China as 'Orwellian nonsense'

John Fritze | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration lashed out Saturday at a demand by China for U.S. airlines to stop describing Taiwan and Hong Kong as separate countries, calling the request “Orwellian nonsense.”

Chinese authorities drafted a letter to United Airlines and American Airlines last month demanding the companies change their websites to refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as part of mainland China. It was the latest in a series of moves by China to influence how international companies refer to those countries.

“President Donald J. Trump ran against political correctness in the United States,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a strongly worded response on Saturday. “He will stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens.”

The U.S. “objects to China’s attempts to compel private firms to use specific language of a political nature in their publicly available content,” the statement continued.

Washington ended formal relations with Taiwan in 1979 as part of its "One China" policy but continues to sell arms to the island. Trump drew worldwide attention by speaking with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen after his election, marking the first time leaders of the two countries had spoken in 37 years.

Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province.

Hong Kong and Macau are both special administrative regions of China, a status that bestows a level of autonomy from Beijing.

The back-and-forth over how companies approach the dispute about geographic language comes as the U.S. and China are engaged in delicate negotiations over trade and North Korea's nuclear program. Trump is pressuring China to open its markets to U.S. companies and reduce the U.S. trade deficit by $200 billion.