Lawmakers Call on Hotel Giants to Stop Using ‘Taiwan, China’ Label

The label ‘implies that Taiwan is the property of’ China, the lawmakers say.

Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) presides over a hearing in Washington on March 5, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Two Republican lawmakers are urging Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt to drop their use of the phrase “Taiwan, China” to refer to Taiwan on their websites and promotional materials, questioning whether this wording was influenced or requested by Beijing.

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to the CEOs of the three hotel chains on May 21, explaining that the current term is an “implicit reference to Taiwan being a part of China.”

“Using terminology such as ‘Taiwan, China,’ gives false credence to the PRC’s position of authority and sovereignty over Taiwan and implies that Taiwan is the property of the PRC,” the lawmakers wrote, using the acronym of China’s official name, People’s Republic of China.

“Not only does this directly contradict U.S. policy, but it also undermines Taiwan’s democratic system.”

Moolenaar is the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Blackburn is a member of the Senate Finance and Senate Judiciary committees.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been known for pressuring organizations and companies to refer to Taiwan with such names as “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei,” as part of its broader efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international community. One such incident happened in 2018, targeting foreign airliners, prompting the first Trump administration to call out Beijing’s move as “Orwellian nonsense.”

Taiwan is a de facto independent nation with its own military, constitution, and democratically elected government. The CCP, which has never ruled Taiwan, considers the self-governing island a “wayward province” that should be united with the mainland.

Moolenaar and Blackburn pointed out that the U.S. government supports Taiwan’s participation on the global stage through the Taiwan Relations Act, a legislation signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in April 1979 after Washington changed diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing earlier that year.

“This [U.S.–Taiwan] relationship is of the utmost importance to the economic and national security of the United States, and the government and the private sector alike must take steps to bolster and support Taiwan, one of our most important allies in the region,” they wrote.

To show that there is widespread support for Taiwan within the federal government, the lawmakers cited a 2024 letter sent by the U.S. Agriculture, Commerce, and State departments to CEOs and leaders of Fortune 500 companies. The letter asked these companies to strengthen their trade and investment ties with Taiwan, while pointing out that the U.S. government “refers to Taiwan as ‘Taiwan.’”

“This [2024] letter followed consistent action from President [Donald] Trump and every president—from both parties—since President Carter,” the May 21 letter reads.

The lawmakers said the three hotel chains should follow other major U.S. companies that have correctly identified Taiwan.

“We urge Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt to review this practice and ensure that your companies’ language on both U.S. and Taiwan-hosted websites properly reflects long-standing U.S. policy,” they said. “This includes avoiding the use of ‘Taiwan, China.’”

The lawmakers requested the three hotel chains to answer three questions before June 20, including whether the decision to use the term “Taiwan, China” was “influenced by any instructions, guidelines, requests, or suggestions from the PRC government or related entities.”

They also asked whether the hotels would make a correction and commit to referring to Taiwan as “Taiwan.”

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the lawmakers for voicing support for Taiwan, in a statement to the local government-run Central News Agency on May 22.

“For a long time, the Chinese government has used economic coercion against international companies to force them to comply with its false political claims,” Lin said.

“The [Taiwanese] government continues to pay close attention to and take seriously the foreign companies that mislabel Taiwan’s name,” he said, adding that his ministry and the island’s overseas missions have actively sought name changes to uphold the island’s sovereignty.

The Epoch Times contacted Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt for comment and did not receive a response by publication time.