VP Chen seeks Canadian support for Taiwan’s ICAO bid

2016/10/17

Vice President Chen Chien-jen met with a delegation from the Canadian parliament at the Office of the President Oct. 13 in Taipei City, urging its members to help build further support in the North American country for Taiwan’s bid to meaningfully participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Chen told the delegation—in country along with dignitary groups from other countries for Republic of China (Taiwan) Double Tenth National Day celebrations—that the government is very grateful for Canada’s backing of its efforts to expand Taiwan’s presence in international organizations such as ICAO. He hoped this support would continue going forward and extend to regional economic integration initiatives like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Aviation safety is a basic human right and should not be jeopardized by political factors, the vice president said, adding that allowing Taiwan to take part in ICAO would help global civil aviation safety standards reach new heights.

According to Chen, Taiwan and Canada share such values as freedom, democracy, rule of law and protection of human rights. The close relationship between the two sides also spans trade and people-to-people exchanges, he said, citing increased tourist numbers, flights—up from 13 to 17 per week since 2013—and Taiwan’s ranking as Canada’s fifth and 12th largest trading partner in Asia and the world, respectively.

The vice president said he looks forward to Taiwan and Canada launching talks on a bilateral investment agreement in the future, and ratification by the Canadian parliament before year-end of a pact eliminating double taxation inked by Taipei and Ottawa last January. Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan has passed the agreement, which is expected to take force in January 2017 following Canada’s approval.

Taiwan was excluded from the 39th ICAO assembly held Sept. 27 to Oct. 7 at the headquarters of the U.N. specialized agency in Montreal. It took part in the 38th edition as a special guest of then-ICAO Council President Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez—the first time in 42 years the nation had been invited to participate in an official meeting of the body responsible for setting international aviation standards and promoting air safety.

The country is an important part of global aviation responsible for managing large numbers of aircraft in the Taipei Flight Information Region, which covers 180,000 square nautical miles and provided services to nearly 1.53 million controlled flights carrying 58 million travelers last year.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=248669&ctNode=2194&mp=9)