A Swedish parliamentary delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a visit aimed at enhancing relations between the nations.
The 11-member delegation, led by Boriana Aberg, head of the Swedish-Taiwanese parliamentarian friendship group, and Member of the European Parliament Charlie Weimers, touched down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5:23pm.
The group was welcomed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁). They greeted reporters at the airport, but did not make a statement before leaving.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The delegation was originally set to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office tomorrow, but they are instead to meet virtually, as Tsai is in home quarantine, which she started on Friday after a person she dined with on Monday last week tested positive for COVID-19.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) is to receive the visitors at the Presidential Office later tomorrow on Tsai’s behalf, Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.
Other members of the delegation include Kerstin Lundgren, deputy speaker of the Swedish Parliament, and Swedish lawmakers Bjorn Soder, Lars Adaktusson, Markus Wiechel, Ann-Sofie Alm, Lars Puss and Alexander Christiansson, among others, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taiwan has become an increasingly familiar topic on the floor of the Riksdag. In 2019, multiple motions and written requests were made urging Stockholm to pay attention to Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election and formally congratulate the winner.
Aberg three years ago proposed a motion urging the government to support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
Then-Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven in March last year declared in parliament that Taiwan should participate in the WHO.
During a question-and-answer session last month, Wiechel called on his government to enhance diplomatic relations with Taiwan, including by giving its representative office status equal to other countries’ embassies.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS