Today's Telegraph gives a new slant to the reason permission was refused due to reference in paperwork to Taiwan !
Article here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...wan-reference/
"An Air New Zealand plane en route to Shanghai was forced to turn around mid-air and return to Auckland on Sunday because the flight’s paperwork included a reference to the disputed island of Taiwan, according to a local media report. The Stuff news website on Tuesday cited multiple sources as confirming that documents for the Air NZ flight 289 included a reference to Taiwan which China understood to be an acknowledgement that the island was independent......................."