Foreign Minister David Lee says securing Taiwan a place at this year’s meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will be a challenge.
Lee was speaking at a meeting of the Legislature’s foreign affairs committee on Thursday.
The ICAO meeting takes place once every three years. Taiwan attended the last meeting in 2013 as a “special guest” after an absence of 42 years. However, Lee told the committee that Taiwan could face difficulties securing an invitation to this year’s meeting because the ICAO’s new Secretary-General is Chinese.
During the meeting, DPP lawmaker Wang Ting-yu asked Lee about a proposal to change Taiwan’s designation in international settings. Taiwan typically uses the name “Chinese Taipei” to avoid the contentious issue of its political status, but the term has proven controversial in Taiwan.
Wang suggested a Romanized version of Taiwan’s official name, “Chung Hua Min Kuo”, translated into English as the Republic of China. However, the foreign minister turned down the idea.