The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked 12 allies and like-minded countries for supporting Taiwan’s participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly in Canada, although it was again rejected entry this year.
A UN specialized agency, the ICAO is holding its 40th three-yearly assembly in Montreal until Friday next week.
Expressing regret over Taiwan again being rejected by the organization due to political factors, the ministry said that the Taipei Flight Information Region managed by the Civil Aeronautics Administration is crucial, as Taiwan is an aviation hub connecting Northeast and Southeast Asia.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan was first denied participation at the assembly in 2016, it said.
Nonetheless, the nation has garnered support from more countries than in previous years, it added.
In an unprecedented milestone, the foreign ministers of the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan in April said in the communique of their G7 meeting in France that they “support the substantive participation of all active members of the international aviation community in ICAO forums. Excluding some of its members for political purposes compromises aviation safety and security.”
The ministry said that 12 of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies — Belize; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Nauru; the Marshall Islands; Palau; Eswatini; Tuvalu; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — wrote to ICAO president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu or ICAO secretary-general Liu Fang (柳芳) to urge Taiwan’s participation in the assembly.
Those allies would continue speaking up for Taiwan at the assembly or express their support by attending receptions in Canada hosted by a Taiwanese delegation, it said.
Former NATO secretary-general and Danish politician Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday last week wrote in an op-ed in Canadian daily the Globe and Mail that “Taiwan was a founding member of the ICAO, but China is again seeking to deny Taipei access to the meeting, even though Taiwanese airspace serves 1.7 million flights a year.”
“Even though Taiwan is playing by the rules, the democratic world responds with indifference, or even fear of upsetting China,” which sends “a signal that Beijing can demand and threaten its way around democratic capitals,” he wrote.
Reminding the ICAO of its goal of promoting a “seamless sky” and “uniting aviation,” the ministry reiterated its call for the organization to seek proper means to include Taiwan, instead of being manipulated by a single member state.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for