A group of Taiwanese living in Norway lost a lawsuit filed last year against the Norwegian government, accusing it of improperly changing their nationality from “Taiwanese” to “Chinese” on their residency permits.
A district court in Oslo on Tuesday last week ruled that the Norwegian government abides by the “one China” policy and so does not diplomatically recognize Taiwan.
The authorities’ decision to change the nationality of Taiwanese residing in the country to Chinese was in line with the government’s policy, so the lawsuit was without merit, the court said.
The lawsuit was filed by three Taiwanese on Aug. 29 last year and named the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration, the Immigration Appeals Board and the Oslo Police District as defendants.
One of the three Taiwanese plaintiffs, a lawyer who only identified himself as Joseph, said that Norwegian authorities first changed the nationality on their residency permits to Chinese in 2010, prompting him to launch a movement to urge the Norwegian government to change the policy.
Despite repeated protests, the Norwegian government failed to respond, which made many Taiwanese residents and students in the country angry, so they decided to file the lawsuit, Joseph said.
Although the ruling was widely expected, they have decided to appeal, he said.
As the judge did not give the plaintiffs the chance to express themselves in court, their right to a fair trial was violated, he added.
The other two plaintiffs are a Taiwanese married to a Norwegian citizen and a Taiwanese post doctoral candidate.
Joseph has said that if they lost the lawsuit, they would file an appeal all the way to the European Court of Human Rights to ensure that the world hears the voice of the Taiwanese people.
Joseph initiated an online fundraising campaign in the second half of last year to raise funds for the lawsuit. To date, they have raised about NT$3.5 million (US$117,442), he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS