Pro-Taiwan independence activists yesterday protested outside China Airlines’ (CAL) headquarters in Taipei over the airline’s new cargo airplane exterior signage, while Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers also criticized CAL’s new designs and called on the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to force the airline to make more changes.
Members of the Taiwan Republic Office, led by its director, Chilly Chen (陳峻涵), were joined by Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) members and others to protest the airline’s decision not to highlight the word “Taiwan” on its aircraft.
“The new design still has ‘China Airlines,’ only slightly smaller and moved nearer the tail. It shows nothing about Taiwan or the word Taiwan. CAL clearly does not want to have Taiwan as part of its logo,” Chen said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The new design does not conform with a resolution passed in the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee in July, which requested the airline remove or minimize “China” in its logo, and highlight “Taiwan” or images related to the nation, Chen said.
“Are the ruling party and CAL disregarding the will of the people? Are they too afraid of China to put the spotlight on Taiwan? Or are they ashamed of calling our nation ‘Taiwan?’” he asked.
The protesters demanded that top ministry officials explain to the public the rationale for the airline’s minimal changes.
“Taiwanese have demanded the national carrier get a new logo so it can distinguish itself for the international community from an airline from the People’s Republic of China [PRC], so it would not be confused with a PRC airline from the PRC, but we see CAL hiding Taiwan’s outline inside the “C” in cargo,” Chen said.
“Most people are angry about it, but government officials are in a self-congratulatory mood, which has only infuriated the public, he added.
TSU Secretary-General Chou Ni-an (周倪安), who took part in the protest, also said that a majority of the public were disappointed with CAL’s new look for its cargo planes, because it did not represent Taiwan, and could still be confused with planes from China.
“The DPP government must follow the will of the people, rather than wasting taxpayers’ money on such frivolous and useless changes,” she said.
“If CAL continues with such foolish redesign work, we request DPP lawmakers freeze next year’s budget for both the ministry and the airline. DPP members must take concrete action, instead of convening media briefings to shout slogans in a bid to delude the public,” she added.
However, some DPP lawmakers were also critical of the design during a lawmakers’ news conference at the legislature earlier in the day.
“When I saw the unveiling of the new logo, I could not see ‘Taiwan’ anywhere on the airplane’s body, and only saw Taiwan’s outline inside the letter ‘C,’” DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said.
“Why is it so difficult to have a conspicuous image of Taiwan on the aircraft’s exterior? It should have an eye-catching logo to showcase Taiwan, rather than a map hidden inside a strange design,” Chao said.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that public feedback showed that “most people are not happy about the design.”
“Many people said that seeing the outline of Taiwan inside the letter C represented ‘Taiwan being swallowed up by China,’ which was not acceptable,” Wang said.
“Throughout the world, people might not know what Taiwan’s map looks like, and so this design cannot distinguish the aircraft as coming from Taiwan,” Wang said.
“If CAL does not listen to voice of the people, how can it continue to operate as our national carrier? It should be recognizable as coming from Taiwan, to distinguish itself from Chinese airlines,” Wang added.
DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said the new design does not represent the nation.
“Taiwan should be spotlighted, but it is not shown,” she said. “CAL is just following its old ways, fearing to mention anything about Taiwan.”
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