Another CCP Puppet: ICAO
The ICAO should not be a vessel for the CCP United Front department
“Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affect all indirectly.” ―Dr Martin Luther King Jr
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has exerted its political and economic clout to transform international agencies meant for the greater good into CCP United Front propaganda departments. These agencies then implement policies to suppress the 23 million people of Taiwan and prevent them from gaining global recognition.
The International Civil Aviation (ICAO), one of these international agencies, is a United Nations specialized agency responsible for implementing aviation safety worldwide. ICAO acts as a platform for the international community to gather and discuss matters pertaining to enhancing aviation regulations. Regrettably, ICAO, like other U.N. affiliated organizations, does not operate as it was intended. Instead, it has slowly become a political tool to carry out the CCP totalitarian regime’s ultra-nationalistic ambitions.
The ICAO was founded in 1944 in Montreal, Canada. The Republic of China (Taiwan’s current official government name) was a founding member of the aviation agency. Since Taiwan lost its U.N. seat in 1971, the Taiwanese government has faced obstacles re-joining organizations, including ICAO. Once the People’s Republic of China (PRC) became a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, the CCP began spreading its red tentacles throughout the U.N., shaping the way the international community regards Taiwan’s complicated nation-status. By misinterpreting U.N. Resolution 2758, the CCP has effectively deprived Taiwan of its right to fair representation in U.N.-affiliated organizations.
Taiwan was able to attend the ICAO assembly meeting as a guest in 2013, the first time since being expelled from the U.N. over 40 years ago. However, this was only possible due to the pro-China Ma Ying-jeou Administration accepting the so-called “1992 Consensus”, a KMT/CCP fabrication, that pretends Taiwan and China are a single country. The current Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen has rejected this false consensus, which prompted the Chinese regime to block Taiwan’s meaningful participation.
With international community remaining indifferent to Beijing’s Orwellian nonsense, the Communist regime has been emboldened to further push its self-centered political interests. Over the last decade, CCP officials have taken up key positions in various international agencies, including the current ICAO Secretary General Fang Liu. They then use their resources to shape the world in Beijing’s political image. The CCP’s infiltration has caused alarm in Washington, and prompted the State Department to appoint a special envoy with the mission to counterbalance China’s ever-growing influence in international organizations.
Taiwan’s exclusion from ICAO has created a significant and dangerous gap in the global aviation network. Taiwan is one of the busiest air transportation hubs in the Asia-Pacific. According to Taiwan’s Civic Aeronautic Administration, the Taipei Flight Information Region served more than 1.75 flights and 68.9 million passengers in 2018. Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport, the nation’s main airport, was ranked 11th in the world, and 5th in Asia for international passenger and cargo volume two years ago.
Excluding Taiwan prevents Taiwan from receiving real-time information regarding aviation practices, and of a huge impact now, information about disease epidemics such as Wuhan Coronavirus. In most cases, Taiwan must go through indirect channels, via the United States and other like-minded countries, to receive the latest updates regarding new ICAO regulations and implement them. CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-Shan described the disadvantages that Taiwan faces obtaining up-to-date information from a second-hand source:
“As a result, we spend more time, paying higher prices and consume greater energy in meeting new requirements under ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices”
The CCP’s authoritarian urge to suppress those with different views inside China are now driving its behavior in ICAO. Recently, the CCP-led ICAO has now begun blocking Twitter users who had urged the aviation agency to grant Taiwan observer status. Researchers from well-respected D.C. think tanks, Taiwanese advocates such as myself, and others who simply retweet anything mentioning Taiwan, are now blocked from viewing ICAO’s official Twitter account.
ICAO’s blocking of critics on Twitter has seriously damaged the UN’s reputation of being a tolerant and inclusive international body. This also raises concerns about the agency’s lack of professionalism, ethics, and objectivity. It is not surprising that Qining Guang, a Chinese national with previous work experience in the Chinese government, is the main person responsible for handling ICAO’s Twitter account, and blocking those who questions ICAO policy regarding Taiwan.
Amid the backlash from Twitter, the CCP-controlled ICAO doubled down, and unexpectedly posted a link to its social media guidelines, highlighting anything “offensive”, “compromising” and “irrelevant” will be removed from their Twitter feed. It is rather strange that an organization that prides itself on enhancing aviation safety finds advocating for Taiwan to be included in the ICAO network as “offensive”. Taiwan’s contributions and expertise are relevant at this time, particularly when dealing with the Wuhan Coronavirus spreading across the world via aviation networks. ICAO labeling the tweets of those who advocate for Taiwan’s inclusion as spam reveals the CCP’s petty attempts to isolate and weaken Taiwan.
What was the response from the UN about an organization, created by democratic states to serve the world, unprecedentedly shutting out those with dissent views? As usual, nothing. According to the UN spokesman on the issue:
“It’s clear from our discussions with our ICAO counterparts that they were responding to a Twitter campaign, which according to them, was communicating misinformation.”
The ICAO Vision states: “Achieve the sustainable growth of the global aviation.” How can ICAO accomplish this global vision if the organization serves the interest of a totalitarian regime with global domination as its sacred mission? Which interest means more for ICAO, the other 192 nation-states, or dictator in Zhongnanhai? The CCP could care less about achieving aviation safety or abiding by international norms, all it cares about is erasing Taiwanese sovereignty off the map.
Taiwan is an excellent and willing partner for aviation, and sacrificing the world’s interests to accommodate a totalitarian regime sends the wrong signal to nations everywhere. The ICAO should not be a vessel for the CCP United Front department. Instead, it should be the apolitical organization that it was created to be. Excluding Taiwan not only creates huge consequences, but generates instability for everyone. It is time the ICAO embraces inclusiveness, equality, and universal values. Let Taiwan into the ICAO now.
It is time the ICAO embraces inclusiveness, equality, and universal values. Let Taiwan into the ICAO now.
