China Airlines (CAL), the nation's largest carrier reiterated yesterday that it has no plan to change its name, company officials said.
For years, the airline, in which the government holds a 69 percent stake, has been asked by a grassroots alliance to replace the "China" with "Taiwan." But this time, it's President Chen Shui-bian (
"We'll have problems in aviation rights once we change our name ? that is, our planes may be barred from flying to their current destinations because we used the name to sign bilateral flight agreements," CAL chair-man Chiang Yao-chung (
The second problem is contracts with the airline's lenders and code-share partners, which would trigger legal issues, he said.
"These are problems that are very difficult to resolve, so we'll maintain the status quo at this point," Chiang said.
He said it would need time to make a thorough evaluation before coming up with a solution.
The airline's name has been considered one of the company's biggest assets in the aviation industry for the past 45 years. Local media reported that CAL had commissioned a foreign consultant to evaluate the value of its brand name and the consulate valued it at US$1 billion.
Chiang denied the report. He said CAL had never conducted such evaluation, adding "We'd be very flattered if this was the value of our name."
Were the airline to change its its name to Taiwan Airlines, it would likely lose business in the face of China's pressure. In 1994, CAL removed the flag from its fuselages in a bid to avoid political pressure from Beijing. The change allowed it to rapidly increase its market share. But if it were to paint "Taiwan" on its planes, Bei-jing might retaliate.
CAL is just one of the SOEs facing the name dilemma. Others include Chinese Petroleum Corp, China Steel Corp and Chunghwa Telecom Co.
On Monday, China Steel said it has no plans to change its name. China Shipbuilding has estimated that making such a change would require it to amend more than 100 contracts, with the accompanying expense.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS