June sixth is the "day of the Swedish flag" designated as the National Day of Sweden. This day is celebrated for at least two reasons of great historical significance to Sweden.
On this day Gustav Wasa was elected king of Sweden in 1523, thus ending the old medieval order as well the Nordic Union, thus propelling Sweden into the age of the Renaissance, reformation and the founding of the Swedish Nation State in the modern sense of the word.
Then on this day in 1809 a new constitution came into being laying the foundation for what was to become true parliamentary rule.
Today as we look at Sweden we see a country which is very much part of the European integration. Sweden joined the European Union in 1995 and has played an active role in the union ever since. We have been especially active in the Baltic area economically as well as politically and the enlargement of the EU on May1 this year has been greeted with enthusiasm and great expectations in Sweden. Sweden will continue to play an important role in the rapid economic development in the Baltic area and is an ideal location for companies wishing to explore the dynamic Baltic region encompassing Sweden, Finland, the St Petersburg area, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Northern Poland and North Eastern Germany.
Sweden is a relatively small country which relies heavily on foreign trade for its prosperity. For this reason we have a small home market which means we have been relying on foreign trade for our prosperity. In this respect Sweden and Taiwan are in a very similar situation.
Thus Swedish companies became "multinational "very early. Companies such as Swedish Match, Ericsson, Gadelius and SKF and have been present in ASIA for a hundred years. Thus the contacts in trade and business between Sweden and Taiwan have a long history.
Today Sweden and Taiwan enjoy a growing trade, according to Taiwan's statistics it grew by 19% the first four months of this year.
Many Swedish brand names and products have become household names. Volvo for trucks, buses and passenger cars, Scania trucks and buses, IKEA, Electrolux home appliances, Ericsson, Absolut Vodka to mention but a few that are known to a greater public. In many other specific areas Swedish companies do enjoy strong position.
A characteristic in the development of Sweden into a prosperous country has been the remarkable number of innovations that has greatly impacted many areas of our lives. It stared early but by the 19th century we had a number of Swedish inventions that radically changed the world. The safety match, made fire available without great danger or hard effort, the screw propeller was revolutionizing shipping, the three phase electrical system made it possible to transmit electric power over distance and the Celsius thermometer grading gave the world a new practical and scientific way to measure temperature. The most famous invention of the time is probably dynamite, because of Alfred Nobel who donated his fortune to a foundation which awards the worlds first and foremost price in sciences but also in literature, peace and economics.
In more recent time there are a number of inventions which has had a tremendous impact not least here in Taiwan. The mobile phones, with the NMT standard followed by the GSM were all developed in Sweden as was WCDMA, the 3G standard. Blue tooth technology is also a Swedish development as was the computer mouse, color screen graphics. The list could be made much longer.
Sweden remains one of the most innovative places on earth. We spend more on research and development relative to the size of our economy than any other country and the standard of our education, especially the higher education remains very high.
More and more Taiwanese companies are discovering that Sweden is the ideal base for setting up research and development centers in socware, other IT and telecom areas as well as biotechnology and medical science. To date some 20 Taiwanese companies have established themselves in Sweden while about 55 Swedish companies have set up in Taiwan.
It is my hope that the broad, fruitful and mutually beneficial ties that exist between Sweden and Taiwan shall continue to flourish. There is every reason to be optimistic in this regard I think.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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