British Airways, Lufthansa and Air Canada are among 20 carriers that now refer to Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing considers its territory, as a part of China on their global websites, in line with Beijing's demands.
There are just three days left for dozens of foreign airlines to decide whether to comply with Beijing's orders or face consequences that could cripple their China business, including legal sanctions.
Many have already sided with Beijing.
The spread of "Taiwan, China" on the drop-down menus and maps of airline websites represents a victory for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his ruling Communist Party's nationalistic effort to force foreign companies to conform to their geopolitical vision.
"What's at stake is that we're allowing a revisionist regime with a terrible track record on freedom of speech to dictate what we say and write in our own countries,"
"If Beijing does not encounter red lines, it can only keep asking for more," says J. Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow with the China Policy Institute and the University of Nottingham's Taiwan studies program.
The People's Republic of China and Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949, but for Beijing, there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it.
Washington officially recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, but despite the lack of formal ties, the US is legally bound to respond to threats to Taiwan and is the island's main supplier of foreign military hardware.
"We strongly object to China's efforts to bully, coerce, and threaten their way to achieving their political objectives," Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AP.
Xi has warned a Taiwanese envoy that the issue of unification cannot be put off indefinitely, and the People's Liberation Army has sent fighter planes near Taiwan's coast.
As China steps up efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, the list of multinationals that have bent to Beijing's will is long - and growing.
On April 25, the Civil Aviation Administration of China sent a letter to 36 foreign airlines ordering them to explicitly refer to Taiwan as a part of China.
In a strongly-worded statement 10 days later, the White House called that demand "Orwellian nonsense."
But a growing number of airlines have heeded Beijing's call.
Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Asiana Airlines, and Philippine Airlines all have changed the way they refer to Taiwan.
Major US carriers have not yet caved, nor has Australia's Qantas Airways. The airlines told AP they were reviewing the request.
