The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday said it had decided to put on hold a meeting to discuss amendments to an aviation pact between Taiwan and the Philippines following the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by personnel aboard a Philippine Coast Guard vessel on Thursday last week.
Based on the pact, each side can assign two airlines to operate regular flights between Taipei and Manila. Taiwan has designated China Airlines and EVA Airways as the exclusive operators of the flights from Taipei, while the Philippines has appointed Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air to operate the flights from Manila.
An amendment to the pact was proposed when a third carrier in the Philippines sought to join the Taipei-Manila route. Aviation officials from both sides met in Taipei last year. Although they did not reach a consensus, they agreed to meet again.
According to the CAA, the Philippines bought up the matter again at the beginning of the year, but both sides had not set a date for a second meeting.
Following the fatal shooting last week, the CAA decided to set aside the proposal for a new aviation pact.
However, suspending flight services between the two countries may be a more difficult decision to make.
Statistics from the CAA showed that Taiwanese carriers offer more flights than their Philippine counterparts. China Airlines offers a total of 18 passenger flights per week between Taipei and Manila, and between Greater Kaohsiung and Manila. It also provides two cargo flights per week as well as charter flight services.
EVA offers seven flights per week between Taipei and Manila.
Taiwan’s Mandarin Airlines also has two flights per week between Taipei and Boracay, Philippines.
Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific together offer 21 passenger flights per week to Taipei. Spirit of Manila Airlines also operates four passenger flights per week between Taipei and Boracay.
Other airlines in the Philippines can also share the use of 3,100 seats available for charter flights.
The CAA said it is gathering data on flight services between the two countries for review and decisionmaking by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Executive Yuan.
Other repercussions caused by the shooting began to emerge yesterday.
Tsen’s Mochi (曾記麻糬), a well-known food shop in Hualien City, canceled a trip to Boracay for its employees to protest the incident.
Chairman Dong Chuen-ling said the company would not consider a trip to the Philippines until Manila makes a formal apology and responds to the Taiwanese government’s demands.
Dong added that the company would donate 10 percent of its revenue from the sale of Mid-Autumn Festival moon cakes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Overseas Emergency Rescue Fund.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS