Swedish lawmakers have proposed a motion to have a building in Taiwan similar to the House of Sweden in Washington, with the motion expected to be debated and voted on soon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The idea was first mentioned on April 14 during a five-day visit to Taiwan by a Swedish delegation.
The House of Sweden building in Washington is evocative of the climate of Sweden and its political transparency. In addition to being the Swedish embassy, the building also houses the embassies of Iceland and Liechtenstein, as well as Swedish companies.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The delegation said it would propose changing the name of Sweden’s representative office in Taipei, the Swedish Trade and Invest Council, to the House of Sweden to symbolize an expanded range of diplomatic work in Taiwan, Department of European Affairs Director Remus Chen (陳立國) said yesterday.
Swedish Parliament Deputy Speaker Kerstin Lundgren on April 14 told reporters in Taipei that she had been one of the lawmakers who initiated the motion, adding that it has received the support of a majority of lawmakers on the Riksdag’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
While the Swedish government has the final say, the Swedish parliament hopes to express its support for Taiwan through this gesture, Lundgren said.
“As a sovereign nation, it is up to Sweden how the ‘one China’ policy is interpreted. From our point of view, the name change does not violate the ‘one China’ policy,” she said.
By changing the name to the House of Sweden, we hope to underscore that Taiwan should be seen as a sovereign nation and not a province of China, Swedish lawmaker Markus Wiechel said at the time.
Meanwhile, the ministry declined to comment on whether Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s defeat in elections on Sunday would impact a reported plan to open reciprocal representative offices.
Asked if the ouster of Jansa could jeopardize the reported talks, Chen did not directly answer the question, saying only that Taiwan had congratulated Slovenia on holding a “peaceful election through a democratic process.”
“The government is ready to deepen its cooperation with the new Slovenian government on various fronts and across party lines to pursue mutually beneficial relationships,” he said, without elaborating.
In Sunday’s elections, the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party, led by Jansa, was defeated by Robert Golob and his Freedom Movement party.
Jansa has visited Taiwan on four occasions and he founded the Slovenia-Taiwan Parliamentarian Friendship Association.
During an interview with Indian broadcaster Doordarshan in January, Jansa said that Slovenia and Taiwan were working on exchanging representatives and opening representative offices.
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
RSS