Helena Reitberger has taken up office as Sweden’s new representative to Taiwan after the position had been left vacant for five months, saying in a social media post yesterday that she expects to develop bilateral cooperation across various fields.
Former representative Anders Wollter left office in March and returned to Sweden after only one year in Taipei, while his predecessor Bengt Carlsson had been in the position from 2020 to 2022, but did not stay in Taiwan for long due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Swedish Trade and Invest Council yesterday said in a post on its official Facebook page “Sweden in Taiwan” welcoming Reitberger’s return to Taiwan.
Reitberger said in the post that she began her term as Sweden’s representative to Taiwan yesterday and had moved to Taipei with her two sons, expecting “an exciting time on the beautiful island.”
Photo from Helena Reitberger’s Facebook page
She also said her return to Taiwan is “a joyous return” as she had worked at the council 20 years ago and made friends with whom she has since kept in touch.
“I have visited Taipei a couple of times over the years, always returning to one of my favorite places — Elephant Mountain!” Reitberger said, adding that she loves the flowers and vegetation, the views of the city, and “the feeling of exhaustion after a long hike.”
Reitberger believes her arrival in Taiwan is “at a very exciting time,” as “relations between Sweden and Taiwan are continuously evolving” and further dialogue and collaboration could be developed across many different areas: green transition, digital technology, artificial intelligence and healthcare, as well as educational, academic and cultural exchange.
“I look forward to playing my part, along with the excellent team at the office, as we continue this journey together!” Reitberger said.
She also thanked her predecessor Wollter for what he had done during his term and his support for her taking up the position.
At the end of the post, the council encouraged Taiwanese to greet Reitberger with “Hej” (meaning “hello” in Swedish) if they see her on the hiking trails on Elephant Mountain.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS