On Wednesday, Taiwan’s parliament approved a proposal to change the airline’s name, including the name change.
Echoing past discussions about the need to rebrand, it was noted during the parliament meeting that the name of the Taipei-based airline is easily confused with Air China, a major Beijing-based airline.
This now entrusts the Ministry of Transportation to develop policies that help strengthen China Airlines as a brand of Taiwan internationally so that it is not confused with a mainland Chinese airline.
The proposal emphasizes that the ministry should find ways of rebranding that do not involve renegotiating or modifying the airline’s international aviation freedoms, such as strengthening Taiwan’s image in the plane’s livery.
The carrier at the center of this debate, however, remains silent for now.
“Please note that China Airlines has no comment on this issue at this time,” Jason Liu, vice president of China Airlines’ corporate communications office, told CNN Travel in an email.
A debate that lasts more than a decade.
China Airlines was founded in Taiwan in 1959 and flies from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, serving 160 destinations in 29 countries. The majority shareholder is the China Aviation Development Foundation, owned exclusively by the Taiwanese government.
So why change the name now?
The argument for the rebranding has been strengthened in recent months due to fears that a series of China Airlines cargo flights, used to deliver medical supplies of coronaviruses worldwide, are mistakenly believed to have come from mainland China.
The citizens of the island were enraged and a petition was initiated requesting the name change on Change.org. As of July 23, more than 50,000 people have signed.
However, this is not the first time that the airline’s nickname has been in the spotlight.
The theme resurfaced again in 2016 under the leadership of Tsai Ing-wen.
Geopolitical problems
Those unaware of the region’s geopolitical sensitivities could be forgiven for being confused about the airline and its headquarters.
Taiwan’s official name is the “Republic of China” (ROC), from its founding to 1911 in mainland China after the collapse of China’s last imperial dynasty.
Mainland China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949 after the communist victory on the mainland after a civil war, although a shared linguistic and cultural heritage for the most part remains.
CNN’s Karla Cripps and Shawn Deng contributed to this report.
.
