Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang has that changing the names of Taiwan's state-owned businesses is aimed at a "proper partition" from China. Huang made his remarks on Friday.

In recent days several of Taiwan's state-run enterprises have changed their names. This has especially applied to firms with "China" or "Chinese" in their names. On Friday Chinese Petroleum Corp. changed its name to CPC Corp., Taiwan. China Shipbuilding Corp. likewise changed its name to CSBC Corp., Taiwan. Also on Friday the board of Chunghwa [China] Post voted to change its name to Taiwan Post amid protests from postal workers.

Huang said that the campaign is designed to avoid confusion in the international community. Many companies in China have similar names to the Taiwan-based firms. Huang said that the changes were thus out of "pragmatic considerations" and not "ideological concerns."

The opposition however has seen the moves as attempts by the government to downplay Taiwan's links with China. Opposition Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday described the changes as "childish" and "political manipulation." Opposition parties have also threatened to boycott budgets for state-run enterprises over the issue.