Denmark’s decision to list Taiwanese residents’ nationality as “China” goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said today, urging Denmark to correct the issue or face further action from Taiwan.
The Danish government has listed Taiwanese residents’ nationality on Danish residence permits as “China” since 2024.
Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible, correct the erroneous nationality designation and align with EU foreign policy to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said.
Photo: Huang Ching-hsuan, Taipei Times
The issue could damage Denmark’s image and commercial relationship in Taiwan, harming the two countries’ relationship and prospects for cooperation, he added.
Taiwan has adjusted its treatment of the Danish representative office in Taiwan, formally named the Trade Council of Denmark in Taipei, and garnered international partners’ support regarding the issue, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said recently.
Denmark is the only country in the EU to list Taiwanese residents’ nationality as China, the Danish news platform Berlingske reported on Friday last week.
Taiwanese living in Denmark have protested to the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) since the change was made in 2024, but no amendments have been made, the report said.
The change was due to errors in how Taiwanese had previously been designated, SIRI told Berlingske, adding that it was following the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration’s policy.
It declined to further comment on the issue.
The change aimed to standardize how to designate Taiwanese nationals on official documents, the Ministry of Immigration and Integration said in a statement on May 6 last year.
Its subordinate agencies previously had different ways of referring to Taiwanese people’s nationality and place of birth, so it standardized the practice with guidance provided by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the statement said.
The standard stipulates that Taiwan or the Republic of China (Taiwan’s formal name) would not appear as nationality or citizenship designations, but Taiwan could be used as a place or regional name.
That means the place of birth of Taiwanese nationals could be Taiwan, but their nationality would be recorded as China.
Denmark’s “one China” policy recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as China’s sole representative in the international community, but does not recognize Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is a part of the PRC, Andreas Forsby, a senior researcher on foreign policy and diplomacy at the Danish Institute of International Studies, told Berlingske.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not changed its position on Taiwan and the practice is inconsistent between ministries and clearly contravenes EU policy, Representative to Denmark Robin Cheng (鄭榮俊) said.
While the EU also has a “one China” policy, it has clarified that the policy does not contradict interaction and cooperation with Taiwan, Cheng said.
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