Emirates tells cabin crew to remove Taiwan flag pins

Emirates ordered its Taiwanese cabin crew to remove the island’s flag from their uniforms Tuesday, as the Middle East airline signalled it was willing to support Beijing’s one-China policy, sparking backlash from Taiwanese staff and citizens. In an emailed instruction to staff, the Dubai-based airline ordered cabin crew from Taiwan to replace the island’s flag pin with the Chinese national flag, but soon after performed a partial u-turn, granting Taiwanese crew members permission to not wear a flag pin. The Chinese government “instructed” Emirates to conform to the policy, according to an email sent by one of the airline’s managers. The one-China policy recognises that Taiwan is part of China, and Beijing has indicated it regards Taiwan as a renegade province. The request by the airline to remove a flag pin echoes similar demands made by the same airline last year, when it made Hong Kong cabin crew wear the Chinese national flag alongside the Bauhinia flag. For a global airline with a vast network of destinations and a mix of passengers from all over the world, the flag pin is used traditionally to highlight the cabin crew’s origin and language capabilities to the travelling public.<br/>