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.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS