II 

Calendar No. 90 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1151 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 19, 2013 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to 

obtain observer status for Taiwan at the triennial International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN 

4 IN THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION OR5 GANIZATION. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 

8 (1) Safe, secure, and economical international 

9 air navigation and transport is important to every 

10 citizen of the world, and safe skies are ensured 


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1 through uniform aviation standards, harmonization 

2 of security protocols, and expeditious dissemination 

3 of information regarding new regulations and other 

4 relevant matters. 

5 (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in 

6 international civil aviation forums and programs is 

7 beneficial for all nations and their civil aviation au8 thorities. Civil aviation is vital to all due to the 

9 international transit and commerce it makes pos10 sible, but must also be closely regulated due to the 

11 possible use of aircraft as weapons of mass destruc12 tion or to transport biological, chemical, and nuclear 

13 weapons or other dangerous materials. 

14 (3) The Convention on International Civil Avia15 tion, signed in Chicago, Illinois, on December 7, 

16 1944, and entered into force April 4, 1947, estab17 lished the International Civil Aviation Organization 

18 (ICAO), stating ‘‘The aims and objectives of the Or19 ganization are to develop the principles and tech20 niques of international air navigation and to foster 

21 the planning and development of international air 

22 transport so as to . . . meet the needs of the peoples 

23 of the world for safe, regular, efficient and economi24 cal air transport.’’. 


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1 (4) The terrorist attacks of September 11, 

2 2001, demonstrated that the global civil aviation 

3 network is subject to vulnerabilities that can be ex4 ploited in one country to harm another. The ability 

5 of civil aviation authorities to coordinate, preempt 

6 and act swiftly and in unison is an essential element 

7 of crisis prevention and response. 

8 (5) Following the terrorist attacks of September 

9 11, 2001, the ICAO convened a high-level Ministe10 rial Conference on Aviation Security that endorsed a 

11 global strategy for strengthening aviation security 

12 worldwide and issued a public declaration that ‘‘a 

13 uniform approach in a global system is essential to 

14 ensure aviation security throughout the world and 

15 that deficiencies in any part of the system constitute 

16 a threat to the entire global system,’’ and that there 

17 should be a commitment to ‘‘foster international co18 operation in the field of aviation security and har19 monize the implementation of security measures’’. 

20 (6) The Taipei Flight Information Region, 

21 under the jurisdiction of Taiwan, covers 180,000 

22 square nautical miles of airspace and provides air 

23 traffic control services to over 1.2 million flights an24 nually, with the Taiwan Taoyuan International Air25 port recognized as the 10th and 19th largest airport 


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1 by international cargo volume and number of inter2 national passengers, respectively in 2011. 

3 (7) Despite the established international con4 sensus regarding a uniform approach to aviation se5 curity that fosters international cooperation, exclu6 sion from the ICAO since 1971 has impeded the ef7 forts of the Government of Taiwan to maintain civil 

8 aviation practices that comport with evolving inter9 national standards, due to its inability to contact the 

10 ICAO for up-to-date information on aviation stand11 ards and norms, secure amendments to the organi12 zation’s regulations in a timely manner, obtain suffi13 cient and timely information needed to prepare for 

14 the implementation of new systems and procedures 

15 set forth by the ICAO, receive technical assistance 

16 in implementing new regulations, and participate in 

17 technical and academic seminars hosted by the 

18 ICAO. 

19 (8) On October 8, 2010, the Department of 

20 State praised the 37th ICAO Assembly on its adop21 tion of a Declaration on Aviation Security, but noted 

22 that ‘‘because every airport offers a potential entry 

23 point into this global system, every nation faces the 

24 threat from gaps in aviation security throughout the 


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1 world—and all nations must share the responsibility 

2 for securing that system’’. 

3 (9) On October 2, 2012, Taiwan became the 

4 37th participant to join the United States Visa 

5 Waiver program, which is expected to stimulate 

6 tourism and commerce that will rely increasingly on 

7 international commercial aviation. 

8 (10) The Government of Taiwan’s exclusion 

9 from the ICAO constitutes a serious gap in global 

10 standards that should be addressed at the earliest 

11 opportunity in advance of the 38th ICAO Assembly 

12 in September 2013. 

13 (11) The Federal Aviation Administration and 

14 its counterpart agencies in Taiwan have enjoyed 

15 close collaboration on a wide range of issues related 

16 to innovation and technology, civil engineering, safe17 ty and security, and navigation. 

18 (12) The ICAO has allowed a wide range of ob19 servers to participate in the activities of the organi20 zation. 

21 (13) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan 

22 Policy Review, declared its intention to support Tai23 wan’s participation in appropriate international or24 ganizations and has consistently reiterated that sup25 port. 


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1 (14) Senate Concurrent Resolution 17, agreed 

2 to on September 11, 2012, affirmed the sense of 

3 Congress that— 

4 (A) meaningful participation by the Gov5 ernment of Taiwan as an observer in the meet6 ings and activities of the ICAO will contribute 

7 both to the fulfillment of the ICAO’s over8 arching mission and to the success of a global 

9 strategy to address aviation security threats 

10 based on effective international cooperation; 

11 and 

12 (B) the United States Government should 

13 take a leading role in garnering international 

14 support for the granting of observer status to 

15 Taiwan in the ICAO. 

16 (15) Following the enactment of Public Law 

17 108–235, a law authorizing the Secretary of State to 

18 initiate and implement a plan to endorse and obtain 

19 observer status for Taiwan at the annual summit of 

20 the World Health Assembly and subsequent advo21 cacy by the United States, Taiwan was granted ob22 server status to the World Health Assembly for four 

23 consecutive years since 2009. Both prior to and in 

24 its capacity as an observer, Taiwan has contributed 

25 significantly to the international community’s collecVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Jun 20, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1151.PCS H1151

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1 tive efforts in pandemic control, monitoring, early 

2 warning, and other related matters. 

3 (16) ICAO rules and existing practices allow for 

4 the meaningful participation of non-contracting 

5 countries as well as other bodies in its meetings and 

6 activities through granting of observer status. 

7 (b) TAIWAN’S PARTICIPATION AT ICAO.—The Sec8 retary of State shall— 

9 (1) develop a strategy to obtain observer status 

10 for Taiwan at the triennial ICAO Assembly—next 

11 held in September 2013 in Montreal, Canada—and 

12 other related meetings, activities, and mechanisms 

13 thereafter; and 

14 (2) instruct the United States Mission to the 

15 ICAO to officially request observer status for Tai16 wan at the triennial ICAO Assembly and other re17 lated meetings, activities, and mechanisms thereafter 

18 and to actively urge ICAO member states to support 

19 such observer status and participation for Taiwan. 

20 (c) REPORT CONCERNING OBSERVER STATUS FOR

21 TAIWAN AT THE ICAO ASSEMBLY.—Not later than 30 

22 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary of State shall submit to Congress a report, in un24 classified form, describing the United States strategy to 

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1 ennial ICAO Assembly and at subsequent ICAO Assem2 blies and at other related meetings, activities, and mecha3 nisms thereafter. The report shall include the following: 

4 (1) A description of the efforts the Secretary of 

5 State has made to encourage ICAO member states 

6 to promote Taiwan’s bid to obtain observer status. 

7 (2) The steps the Secretary of State will take 

8 to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan in 

9 ICAO and at other related meetings, activities, and 

10 mechanisms thereafter. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 18, 2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 90 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1151 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strattion Assembly, and for other purposes. triennial International Civil Aviation Organiza- egy to obtain observer status for Taiwan at the 

JUNE 19, 2013 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 


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