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.
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