Canadian lawmakers on Sunday urged the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to include Taiwan in its general assembly, which opened yesterday in Montreal.
Liberal Party lawmaker and Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group cochair Judy Sgro and Conservative Party lawmaker and Shadow Minister for Democratic Reform Michael Cooper made the call at a news conference held by Taiwan in Ottawa.
The Canadian lawmakers said that the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) is an inseparable part of global aviation safety, adding that there was cross-party support on the issue in the Canadian parliament.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan’s exclusion from the ICAO “endangers not only regional stability, but the safety and security of global air travel,” Sgro said.
Excluding the democratic nation was “bending to Beijing’s bullying,” Cooper said, adding that Taiwan is a “major player in global aviation,” as an international hub with “tens of millions of passengers and cargo” transiting through the nation.
As host of the 42nd ICAO Assembly, Canada should send a clear message to the global body that Taiwan’s participation is essential to global aviation safety, he added.
Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) said China’s military exercises over the past few years have threatened regional air safety, disrupting international flight routes in the Taipei FIR and putting passenger safety at risk.
Since August 2022, China has conducted at least four large-scale military exercises, none of which were announced seven days in advance as required under ICAO regulations, he said.
“We must not allow political maneuvers to take precedence over aviation safety,” he said. “I urge Canada and all our friends around the world to stand with Taiwan and keep politics out of aviation safety.”
Civil Aviation Administration Deputy Director-General Lin Jiunn-liang (林俊良) said that Taiwan’s exclusion from the ICAO blocks the nation from accessing crucial safety information, forcing his agency to rely on incomplete sources and preventing real-time international coordination.
Only through Taiwan’s meaningful participation can the ICAO’s mission of “no one left behind” be truly realized, he said.
The news conference was broadcast live on Canada’s Cable Public Affairs Channel, which invited Lin for a separate interview explaining the importance of the Taipei FIR to Canadian travelers and global aviation safety.
The American Institute in Taiwan yesterday wrote on Facebook that the US “strongly supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization.”
The US also urges ICAO Secretary-General Juan Carlos Salazar and President Salvatore Sciacchitano “to facilitate Taiwan’s participation as a guest of the council president at the 42nd ICAO Assembly,” it said.
“Taiwan’s participation in ICAO enhances global aviation safety and security,” it added.
The assembly runs until Friday next week. Taiwan is not a UN member and therefore not part of the ICAO, a specialized UN agency.
Taiwan last attended the ICAO Assembly in 2013 as a guest of the council president, amid warmer cross-strait relations under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
Despite not receiving an invitation, Taiwan’s ICAO action team traveled to Montreal, where it is to meet with delegations from other countries to explain the necessity of Taiwan’s participation in the ICAO.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS