Angry Online Users Call For 'independent Alaska'

The United States has come in for some harsh attacks by mainland internet users after Washington's criticism of Beijing's demand that airlines list Taiwan as part of China was published in Mandarin, with some calling for the secession of states like Alaska and Hawaii.

The US embassy posted on its official Weibo account the Mandarin translation of a White House statement that dismissed China's request to foreign air carriers as "Orwellian nonsense".

The post inspired tens of thousands of comments, but instead of supportive messages for the US, it triggered patriotic posts on a platform that is closely watched and censored by the authorities.

Several commentators called for "an independent Hawaii" and an "independent Alaska".

One angry commenter said "(if you) don't want to do business, get out of here. Follow our laws if you want stay!"

Another said: "This has nothing to do with freedom of speech. It's Chinese law."

While the post has not been taken down, users who try to share it on their own accounts receive a message saying: "Sorry, this content is temporarily unavailable."

The White House statement came after the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration sent a notice to 36 foreign airlines on April 25, asking them to comply with Beijing's standards on referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as Chinese territories. (AFP)