Referring to Taiwan as a country is a mistake

It is natural for the Civil Aviation Administration of China to require foreign airlines not to list the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan as though they are independent countries.

This may not seem to be a big deal to foreign airlines or hotel chains, who may wonder why they are being required to change their practice now. But when secessionists in Taiwan and Hong Kong are trying to split both regions from their motherland, the CAAC can no longer turn a blind eye to the errors of the airlines' ways.

Foreign airlines or hotels, whose listings may give the impression that Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, are countries rather than regions, should amend the listings as it is important they abide by the laws and regulations of the country if they are doing business here. The same is also true of Chinese enterprises doing business overseas, which should abide by the laws of a country they are operating in.