TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- In the wake of a heightened pressure by China on international airlines to remove any mention of Taiwan as an independent country, Australia's foreign minister has pushed back at Beijing for trying to exert pressure on Australian carrier Qantas, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

In a letter sent to 36 foreign airline companies sent last week, China’s civil aviation authorities demanded the carriers remove Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau from the list of countries on their websites or other materials, including some American companies. In the case of some U.S. airline, Beijing threatens companies that do not comply with their order will be referred to "the relevant cybersecurity authorities."

Qantas verified that it was one of the 36 airlines that received the letter. In response, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said, "The terms that private companies choose to list destinations are a matter for them," according to the Sydney Morning Herald. She then added that "There should be no pressure from governments, whether ours or others, that threatens the ordinary operations of business."

In a statement released on Saturday, Sarah Sanders, the White House spokesperson said, "this is Orwellian nonsense and part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies," reported the Guardian.

Sanders said President Donald Trump was against political correctness in the U.S., and that the president would thus “stand up for Americans resisting efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to impose Chinese political correctness on American companies and citizens." The U.S. government asked China to “stop threatening and coercing American carriers and citizens,” added Sanders.

In January of this year, Qantas bowed to pressure from Beijing to change the designation of Taiwan on their website. On Jan.16, the company released a statement; “Due to an oversight, some Chinese territories were incorrectly listed as countries on parts of our website. We are correcting this error.”

However, Qantas' moves seem to have not appeased the communist regime in Beijing as the latest letter received in late April apparently went into more detail about additional changes it wants the Australian air carrier to make. A Qantas spokesman acknowledged receiving the latest letter, but declined to elaborate on its contents at this time.

Penny Wong, the foreign affairs spokeswoman for Australia's Labor Party also indicated that Qantas should not be beholden to Beijing when it comes to terminology on its corporate website: "It is entirely a matter for Qantas, or any other company, how it chooses to best promote the destinations it flies to," reported the Sydney Morning Herald.