The International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) exclusion of Taiwan at its 42nd assembly in Montreal is “bending to Beijing’s bullying,” and “makes a mockery of the ICAO’s stated mission,” Canadian lawmaker Michael Cooper yesterday told the House of Commons of Canada.
The assembly is set to convene from Tuesday next week until Oct. 3, with China to attend as a member state, though the organization declined to invite Taiwan.
“It’s time for ICAO to stop placating the Beijing dictatorship, put global aviation safety first and invite Taiwan to participate in the assembly,” Cooper said.
Photo: Screen grab from Taiwan in Canada’s Facebook page
Taiwan, as “Canada’s democratic ally,” is also “the 11th largest aviation market in the world and serves as a vital global hub,” the Conservative Party lawmaker said.
“Excluding one of the world’s largest and most responsible airspace managers creates a dangerous gap that undermines global aviation safety,” he added.
Meanwhile, Canadian lawmaker and Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group cochair Judy Sgro on Tuesday spoke to the house, saying that Taiwan, “which manages the busy and strategically vital Taipei Flight Information Region” should be invited to the ICAO.
“As tensions rise over the Taiwan Strait and concerns grow around China’s use of the M503 flight path, Taiwan’s participation is more critical than ever,” the Liberal Party lawmaker said.
Taiwan’s exclusion has “broader geopolitical implications, including for global trade and Canada’s economic interests in the Indo-Pacific,” she said.
It further “contradicts the spirit of the Chicago Convention,” Sgro said.
The agreement is also known as the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which establishes core principles permitting international transport by air, and led to the creation of the ICAO.
Sgro and Cooper are on Monday next week to host an international news conference in Ottawa to back Taiwan’s inclusion in the ICAO’s 42nd assembly.
Four bipartisan members of the US Congress last month also wrote a letter to the ICAO, urging it to invite Taiwan to participate as a guest in Montreal and “clarify its opinion” on China’s decision in July to open a third extension of the M503 flight route, which Beijing last year relocated closer to the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS