A Taiwanese resident of Sweden has launched a petition demanding that the Swedish Tax Agency restore the designation for Taiwan on its Web site, after it was changed to “province of China.”
Huang Hsiao-chien (黃小倩) said she hopes she will not be required to list her place of birth as “Taiwan, province of China” on official documents while she is living in Sweden.
The nation should respect Taiwanese and maintain a neutral position on the issue of Taiwan’s name in the interest of protecting democracy, she said.
Photo: screen shot from Skrivunder.com
Huang has been living in Sweden for nine years after moving with her husband, who took a job there, she said.
The tax agency on Feb. 28 announced that it was to change the designation for Taiwan from “Taiwan ROC [Republic of China]” to “Taiwan, province of China” in accordance with International Organization for Standardization standard 3166. The change took effect on Monday.
“Taiwanese living in Sweden simply cannot accept this,” Huang said.
The Swedish-Taiwanese Friendship Association, chaired by Anders Lord, echoed Huang’s sentiments, calling the move “unacceptable.”
Representative to Sweden Liao Tung-chou (廖東周) asked Taiwanese in Norway to also sign the petition if they travel to Sweden.
Huang said the petition has already been signed by many Taiwanese residents of Sweden and called on people in Taiwan to support the drive.
“Taiwanese living in Sweden value the name ‘Taiwan, ROC’ and we do not want to be forced to write ‘province of China’ when filling out applications,” she said.
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