U.S. House passes legislation backing Taiwan's ICAO bid
ROC Central News Agency
2013/06/19 10:46:13
Washington, June 18 (CNA) The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday in support of Taiwan's bid to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations specialized agency promoting safe and efficient travel.
The bill calls for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to develop a strategy to help Taiwan obtain observer status at the next triennial ICAO Assembly scheduled for September 2013 in Montreal.
It also asks Kerry to instruct the U.S. mission to the ICAO to officially request observer status for Taiwan at the ICAO Assembly and actively urge ICAO member states to support such status and participation for Taiwan.
Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who introduced the legislation, said Taiwan's exclusion from the ICAO is extremely disadvantageous to the millions of passengers flying between Taiwan and the United States every year.
The passage of the bill is "a significant step towards ensuring that Taiwan's airports and airlines have access to the latest technologies and aviation standards," he said.
"With a key meeting scheduled this fall, now is the time to move on this critical issue, getting Taiwan into ICAO," Royce said in a statement.
The Senate is expected to pass a similar bill next week that will become law if signed by President Barack Obama.
Taipei, which lost its U.N. seat to Beijing in 1971 and has since been unable to rejoin the world body because of China's interference, has been seeking to participate meaningfully in U.N. specialized agencies in recent years.
Thanks to warming ties across the Taiwan Strait since President Ma Ying-jeou first took office in 2008, Taiwan has been able to attend the World Health Assembly -- the decision-making arm of the World Health Organization (WHO) -- as an observer since May 2009.
(By Tony Liao and Y.F. Low)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
