Wed, Apr 15, 2020 page3

• Virus Outbreak: KMT sets timer for CAL name change

  BANTER: The transport minister said that he alone cannot decide to change the airline’s name, and perhaps the party should instead count the days until it revises its own name

  • By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
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  The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday set a timer to calculate the number of days it would take for China Airlines (CAL) to change its name to Taiwan Airlines after Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) reiterated his support for the name-change campaign on Monday, adding that it dared the transportation minister to rename the airline.

  Whether the airline’s name should be changed has become a subject of heated debate after it was entrusted with the task of transporting masks and other disease-prevention materials to countries severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  The airline’s name, which was also displayed on the containers of the materials, has led some people to think that the materials were donated by China, not Taiwan.

  Asked about it yesterday, Lin said: “We welcome the KMT and the public brainstorming ideas for Taiwan to be recognized for its efforts. The party may have tried to generate conversation about the topic by setting up a timer, but by doing so it inadvertently exposed its own problems... If it truly embraces Taiwan, it should set a timer for itself, counting the days until it changes its name to the Taiwan Nationalist Party.”

  People likely care more about when the party will change its name than when the airline is to be renamed, Lin added.

  Changing the airline’s name would require the public and politicians to reach a consensus, Lin said, adding that it is also a matter for the airline’s management.

  The KMT should not turn the issue into a political one, he added.

  “Our message to the world is: ‘Taiwan can help,’ and we are taking medical aid to people around the world on the belief that disease prevention has no borders. Through the foreign aid, we are also sharing our experience of combating the disease with the world,” Lin said. “People should cherish the hard-earned recognition from the international community for our performance in curbing the spread of COVID-19.”

  Lin later said on Facebook that this was not the first time that people had raised the issue, but it drew much more feedback from young people this time because they do not want other countries to confuse Taiwan with China.

  Lin said that he had reminded the airline to not use unnecessary signs that might easily lead to misunderstandings.

  Even though the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is the airline’s major shareholder, the airline is a publicly traded firm and has to respect other shareholders, he said.

  Before the public reaches a consensus on this issue, Lin said that he would ask the airline to highlight imagery on the exterior and interior of the aircraft that would be less confusing.

  “The KMT seems to think such an important issue can be decided by a single politician alone, as if we are still under an authoritarian regime,” he said.

  “Instead of setting up a timer or creating a Web site for Taiwan Airlines, we sincerely hope that the KMT can work with us and Taiwanese … and join us in preventing the spread of disease,” he added.
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