Taiwan says it won’t bow to pressure amid China tension

M60A3 tanks fire during an anti-invasion drill to test their readiness ahead of Lunar New Year, simulating enemy invasion and the safeguarding of the weapon systems in case of air raid, in Taichung, Taiwan, on January 17, 2019. (REUTERS/Tyrone Siu)

• Beijing has stepped up pressure on Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016
• New pressure tactics included rising Chinese scrutiny over how companies from airlines to retailers refer to Taiwan

TAIPEI: Taiwan will not bow to Chinese pressure and called for international support against Beijing’s “out-of-control actions,” a presidential spokesman said on Thursday, after Beijing urged companies to change the way they refer to the self-ruled island.
“As for China’s related out-of-control actions, we need to remind the international community to face this squarely and to unite efforts to reduce and contain these actions,” Alex Huang, the spokesman for President Tsai Ing-wen, told reporters in Taipei.
Companies including Apple and Amazon have “wrongly labelled” Taiwan and should take immediate actions to correct it, the state-run Legal Daily reported on Wednesday, citing a report released by Chinese government think tanks.
Beijing has stepped up pressure on Taiwan since Tsai, from the pro-independence ruling party, took office in 2016. That has included rising Chinese scrutiny over how companies from airlines, such as Air Canada, to retailers, such as Gap , refer to the democratic island in recent months.