An event calling for Taiwan’s participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization was held at the National Press Theatre Sept. 22 in Ottawa, Canada.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the press conference was convened ahead of the ICAO’s 42nd assembly in Montreal by Lin Jiunn-liang, deputy director general of Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration and head of a delegation for Taiwan’s ICAO bid. Rep. Harry Ho-jen Tseng of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada and members of Parliament Judy Sgro and Michael Cooper were also present.
Lin said the CAA-supervised Taipei Flight Information Region is a key flight control hub in East Asia and an indispensable link in global aviation safety. He called on the U.N. special agency to invite Taiwan to its assembly and technical meetings.
The delegation urged ICAO to look squarely at Beijing’s unilateral additions to the M503 flight route and decision to conduct military exercises without sufficient warning as required by ICAO regulations. Such moves have seriously threatened regional security and impacted global air travel, it said.
Lin gave an interview to Canada’s Cable Public Affairs Channel prior to the news event to make the case for Taiwan. The conference was also broadcast on CPAC.
Sgro, who co-chairs the Canada-Taiwan Friendship Group, said China’s coercive behavior in the air could have serious consequences. She added that the Canadian government supports an open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific, and will continue to back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in ICAO and other global bodies.
Cooper said tens of millions of passengers and huge amounts of cargo pass through the airspace around Taiwan each year. There is no legitimate basis for Taiwan’s exclusion, he said, calling on Ottawa to reiterate its support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in ICAO and other multilateral organizations, and urging ICAO to stop bending to Beijing. (SFC-E)
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