Taiwan condemns China's economic pressure amid flag row

Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's government on Saturday condemned China for using economic pressure to interfere in politics after the Taipei-based Evergreen Group apologized for excluding the Chinese flag from Olympic decorations at its Paris hotel earlier this month.

In a statement, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Chinese government has consistently used coercive tactics such as boycotts, sanctions, tax audits and regulatory violations to pressure international companies into complying with its political objectives.

Beijing's political manipulation has "undermined the rules-based international order and normal business practices," the ministry said.

The Evergreen apology on Friday came after a Chinese content creator said in an Aug. 13 TikTok post that he refused to check in at the Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Paris because he noticed that the Chinese flag was not among those displayed in the hotel lobby.

Soon after the TikTok was posted and shared in Mandarin-speaking communities worldwide, a number of Chinese travel websites removed the Paris and Shanghai branches of the Evergreen Laurel Hotel from their booking platforms.

Evergreen Group issued an apology for the incident on Friday, saying it supports the "1992 consensus" and opposes Taiwanese independence.

The "1992 consensus" was a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between the then Kuomintang (KMT) government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Chinese government.

The KMT has described it as an acknowledgment by both sides that there is only "one China," but with each side free to interpret what that "one China" means.

Beijing, however, has never publicly recognized the second part of the KMT's interpretation, and Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has rejected the formula, saying that acceptance of the consensus would imply agreement with China's claim over Taiwan.

On Saturday, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) also issued a statement saying it "strongly protests and condemns the Chinese Communist Party for manipulating nationalism, inciting and condoning netizens to bully and pressure our enterprises, and engaging in economic coercion."

Beijing should reconsider its governance and ideology, as well as take responsibility for stoking cross-strait tensions that drive investment away and risk international isolation, the MAC said.