Seemingly, the confusing situation of the national flag carrier of Taiwan, China Airlines, might come to an end. Taiwanese legislators voted in favor to rebrand the airline to Taiwan Airlines to better represent it on an international stage.
Initiated by the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, the policy is aimed at strengthening China Airlines brand in order to avoid short-, medium-, and long-term confusion with airlines that are based in the People’s Republic of China. The legislators remarked that China Airlines is mistakenly identified for an airline from mainland China, rather than Taiwan.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications plans to strengthen the brand’s international image to be more associated with Taiwan. The livery of the aircraft would also be changed, according to the legislature, to better reflect Taiwan.
The word China would be simply removed and Taiwan would be added instead, as the airline would be renamed to Taiwan Airlines.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan donated masks to European countries, labelling the cargo Taiwan Can Help, as outlined in the legislature. “But the China Airlines name on the plane let the international media mistakenly believe that the masks came from China, which caused great harm to Taiwan.”
In February 2020, a petition was started that called for a name change for the Taiwanese flag carrier. The arguments were almost identical, as the authors of the petition called the China Airlines name “confusing” and causing “quite a fiasco” amongst the international community amidst the coronavirus outbreak.