Taiwan-friendly nations should support the government’s bid to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, reiterating earlier calls for inclusion in the UN body one day after it concluded its 41st assembly session in Montreal.
Taipei “strongly condemns” the military exercises China conducted under false pretexts in Taiwanese airspace and waters, which have jeopardized aviation safety in the region and the world, the ministry wrote in a news release.
The international community must respond to the irresponsible and deliberate actions undertaken by Beijing to disrupt aviation safety, the ministry said.
Countries friendly to Taiwan should therefore call for the nation’s participation in ICAO events, it said.
The ministry thanked the 24 government agencies, 73 legislative chambers of 65 countries, and 1,160 politicians and prominent figures who have spoken up in support of Taiwan’s ICAO bid since 2019.
Their support shows broad international approval for the country’s request, it said.
As the ICAO concluded its assembly, Civil Aeronautics Administration Deputy Director-General Clark Lin (林俊良) visited Canada and at diplomatic functions hosted by the ministry’s local representative office presented the case for Taiwan’s participation, it said.
These activities included an international news conference, a diplomatic banquet, and Global Cooperation and Training Framework meetings featuring participants from the US, Japan, Australia and other countries, the ministry said.
Taiwanese officials had bilateral discussions with ICAO members on the sidelines of the assembly, highlighting the nation’s commitment to bolster global aviation safety, it said.
Diplomatic allies Paraguay, Guatemala, Belize, Eswatini, Tuvalu, Palau, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia spoke up in support of the assembly, with some saying that the ICAO’s “no country left behind” initiative cannot be realized without Taiwan, the ministry said.
Allies Nauru, Haiti, and Saint Kitts and Nevis urged ICAO president Salvatore Sciacchitano to enable Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the organization, the ministry added.
Taiwan’s bid was also supported by France, Japan and New Zealand, it said.
Germany and the US publicly backed the bid for the first time, it added.
Those Taiwan-friendly countries conveyed the message that the exclusion of Taiwan for political reasons has created unacceptable risks to global aviation safety, the ministry said.
Like-minded countries persisted in their support for Taiwan, it said, citing a speech by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May, a joint statement at a UK-Australia virtual summit in February and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks in October last year.
The ministry has made strides in garnering bipartisan support from US lawmakers on the federal and state level, it said.
The US Senate in September proposed the draft ensuring Taiwan aviation and safety act, while the US Congressional Taiwan Caucus and eight state legislatures passed resolutions in support of Taiwan’s bid, it said.
The ministry called on the ICAO to maintain political neutrality and professional standards, and allow Taiwan’s participation.
It would have a positive effect on aviation safety, the ministry said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS