Taiwanese expatriates in Canada yesterday pasted protest stickers around the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Montreal headquarters, condemning the ICAO for excluding Taiwan from the organization’s three-yearly assembly.
Numerous small handmade stickers emblazoned with the slogan “The sky is not made in China” in French and English were stuck to nearby parking meters using clear tape.
“When you throw a pebble into a pool, it might not even make a ripple, but I still felt that this should be done,” said the person who made the stickers, who asked to remain anonymous.
Photo: CNA
He added that he hopes more Taiwanese will participate to increase the chances of having an effect.
“That expatriates care this much is really moving,” said an official at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada, who also asked to remain anonymous.
The office said it welcomed actions by Taiwanese expatriates to make international society “wake up” to Taiwan’s unjust treatment, while calling for all measures to be peaceful and legal.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it respected the rights of Taiwanese expatriates to freely express their views and was hopeful that there would be more “voices for justice” to highlight that the nation’s inability to participate in the ICAO assembly was fundamentally unreasonable.
It added that it hoped Taiwanese expatriates would adopt peaceful methods and abide by the law.
The ICAO’s 39th assembly began on Tuesday and is to conclude on Friday.
Taiwan was not invited to the event, most likely because of the objections of Beijing.
About 30 of Montreal’s Taiwanese residents had previously protested outside of the ICAO’s headquarters when the assembly convened.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,