Members of a Taiwanese independence group yesterday called on the government to rectify the name of China Airlines, saying that its name frequently causes it to be mistaken for a Chinese airline and leads to inconvenience for Taiwanese.
To curb the spread of a novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China, more than 60 countries have imposed a ban on all incoming flights and passengers from China.
Italy on Sunday suspended all flights from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macau until April 28.
Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Taipei Times
China Airlines is one of Taiwan’s largest carriers, and its largest shareholder, the China Aviation Development Foundation, is controlled by the government.
At a protest in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) said that although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attributed Italy’s decision to “inaccurate information” from the WHO, the government should take responsibility for the airline’s name, as it would undoubtedly be confused with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by other countries.
“Anything containing the word ‘China’ is China — it is that simple to the world,” he said.
Multiple name rectification campaigns have been launched since 2003 to change the airline’s name, but the company brushed off the requests citing high costs and negative effects on commercial aviation rights, he said.
Chen called on Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who has said that a name change would help the airline differentiate itself, to put his words into action, saying that otherwise Taiwan would be subject to the same treatment as China during times of crisis.
The office would call meetings to discuss the next steps should it see no concrete response or action from the ministry soon, he added.
In related developments, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵) yesterday met with Italian Representative to Taiwan Davide Giglio over Rome’s flight ban, but no progress had been made as of press time last night.
The ministry continues to communicate with the Italian government through the two countries’ representative offices and is hopeful that the matter can be quickly resolved, Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said, without elaborating.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan and CNA
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS