Chinese military incursions into Taiwan’s airspace pose a threat to aviation safety in the region, making it imperative for Taipei to be included in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), government officials said on Monday.
While some might think that Taiwan’s wish to join the ICAO is a political goal, recent developments in the Taiwan Strait show that international civil aviation safety transcends politics and is vital to the safety of all air passengers, Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) said prior to the ICAO Assembly in Montreal.
Taiwan has not been invited to ICAO meetings since 2013, and it has been left out of this year’s assembly, which began yesterday at the organization’s headquarters and is to run until Friday next week.
Photo: Reuters
The military exercises that China launched following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei last month posed a severe threat to the Taipei flight information region’s (FIR) security, Tseng told a news conference on Monday.
The international community should understand that China’s military exercises clearly contravened ICAO regulations, and compromised the aviation safety of Taiwan and neighboring countries, he said.
That the drills were held so close to Taiwan proper constituted a major development, which should be discussed at the ICAO Assembly, Tseng said.
Tseng is part of a government delegation campaigning in Montreal for Taiwan’s inclusion in the ICAO.
Civil Aeronautics Administration Deputy Director-General Lin Jiunn-liang (林俊良), who is leading the delegation, said Taiwan is the sole managing authority of the Taipei FIR, which provided services to 72 million passengers in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwanese commercial airlines rank among the best in the world and Taiwan is willing to contribute to global aviation safety, Lin said, appealing for the country’s inclusion in the ICAO.
The delegation on Monday held bilateral discussions with representatives of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and like-minded countries.
Paraguayan National Directorate of Civil Aviation head Felix Kanazawa said it is essential to support Taiwan’s bid to join the ICAO as an observer.
Saint Lucia Consul General to Canada Henry Mangal said the diplomatic ally plans to advocate for Taiwan’s membership in the ICAO.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
RSS