The triennial meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization will take place from September 27 to October 7. The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said Thursday it is working to secure an invitation for Taiwan to take part. But it admitted that this may depend on a show of goodwill from China.
Taiwan attended the last meeting of the UN-affiliated organization in 2013 as an observer. The invitation last time was seen as a result of the thaw in cross-strait relations under former president Ma Ying-jeou. But with Beijing seemingly boycotting the new administration of President Tsai Ing-wen, the prospects for an invitation this year remain unclear. The new secretary general of the organization, Fang Liu, is also a Chinese national.
The CAA pointed out that over 1.5 million flights passed through the Taipei Flight Information Region last year. It said this showed the importance of including Taiwan in discussions about international civil aviation.