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Taiwan students in Norway protest visa title

Taiwanese students are taking legal action against the Norwegian government in order to be recognised as Taiwanese on their visas. The row has erupted over Taiwanese students being granted documents which state they are Chinese.

Joseph wanted to study in Norway to learn from its society and bring those back to Taiwan. Photo: Pixabay

Top officials said Norway simply does not recognise Taiwanese independence

‘Taiwan: My Name, My Right’ is a group formed of Taiwanese students in Norway seeking to lobby the government to label them officially as Taiwanese, rather than from China.

“I am fully Taiwanese, when you call me Chinese it’s an insult”

The group allege that the action contravened identity protections in the Norwegian constitution, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights.

There is a long-running diplomatic dispute between the two territories, both of which are ruled by governments which see themselves as the ‘true’ Chinese administration.

Joseph, who wanted to remain anonymous until the launch of the lawsuit, completed a masters course in law at The University of Oslo and initiated the movement.

“I was wrongly recognised as a citizen [of a country] which I don’t identify myself as,” he told The PIE News.

“I also came here to learn about human rights and freedom of speech, but this administrative decision is totally against what I [hoped for].”

According to reports, the Taiwanese foreign ministry is assisting the students with their case.

Joseph explained that before 2010, Taiwanese students in Norway were recognised as Taiwanese on their official documentation.

The group suspects that when Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobao won the Nobel Peace Prize in that year, the Beijing government put pressure on their Oslo counterparts.

“The Norwegian government faced very strong pressure from the Chinese government, and it even boycotted their transportation to Norway and stop negotiating with the Norwegian government,” Joseph said.

“I am fully… Taiwanese, and proud. When you register me as Chinese, that is a really strong insult against [me],” he added.

In 2017, the Taiwanese group lodged an appeal against the decision to register them as citizens of China, which the Norwegian government eventually dismissed after eight months.

According to ‘Taiwan: My Name My Right’, in March 2018 the Norwegian Immigration Appeal Board maintained a ruling by stating that it is bound by the EU’s One-China Policy and that the registration does not have an influence upon the rights and obligations of the parties concerned.

“I came here to learn about human rights and freedom of speech”

Although Norway is not a full member of the EU, it accepts some rulings and policies as part of the European Economic Area.

The group has now started a crowdfunding campaign to hire a Norwegian lawyer.

Iceland is another country that recognises students from Taiwan as Chinese on their visas.

In 2016, the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration’s to listed an international student from Taiwan as “Stateless” rather than “Chinese”.

Marlén Hansen, acting Head of the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board told HKPR that Norway does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state and “that is why the Norwegian Immigration authorities register persons from Taiwan as citizens of China”.

The Norwegian government has not replied to The PIE News’ request for additional comment.

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3 Responses to Taiwan students in Norway protest visa title

  1. Although Taiwan is actually not a sovereign state, a Taiwanese student should be registered as STATELESS or TAIWANESE instead of Chinese.

    Taiwan is Taiwan.
    Taiwan is neither the Republic of China (ROC) nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

    The people on Taiwan live in the colonial Republic of China regime now.
    The non-colonial, sovereign independent Taiwan can only come from the Taiwanese self-determination.

    Taiwan can fulfill the responsibility of being a sovereign state in the international community and deserves to found an independent sovereign Taiwan state.

    Please support founding an independent sovereign Taiwan
    And do voice for the independence of Taiwan in relevant occasions as much as you can!

  2. i was searching where should i study taiwan or norway, as i love both countries and want to live. I am now confirmed that where should i go to study, it really give a bad impression that EU recognize taiwanese student as chinese student. – kushal from india

  3. David Chen

    On September 2, 1945, General MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers,  issued General Order No. 1, which directed the Japanese troops within Formosa (Japanese Taiwan) to surrender to Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) from the Republic of China (ROC).  Following  this Order, CKS was just one of the Allied Powers’ representatives.  CKS was NEITHER an US agency to accept the surrender of Japanese troops in Taiwan, NOR was he the Receiving Party of Taiwan as a returned Chinese territory.  Japanese troops were to surrender to the Allied Powers, not to the Republic of China (ROC).

    But CKS military authority tampered with the General Order No.1 and announced the day of October 25, 1945 to be Taiwan’s “Retrocession Day”. and forced Taiwan to become a province of the Republic of China (ROC).  Following the same fallacy, People’s Republic of China (PRC) also claimed that Taiwan is a part of China, because the ROC is China, and the PRC is China too.

    On October 25, 1971, under United Nation’s No.2758 Resolution, ROC was replaced by PRC and expelled from the U.N. The PRC became  the sole Chinese government that represents China.  The PRC claimed to inherit all the territories once owned by the ROC, including Taiwan. 

    It’s apparent that the ROC’s continued reign over Taiwan is strangling Taiwan, because the PRC can use it as an excuse to claim that Taiwan is a Chinese domestic affair between the PRC and its renegade, the ROC, such that the international community can not intervene.

    To solve this unfinished business left over from WW2 and let Taiwan become a normalized self-governing country, the ROC should leave Taiwan and return to its own territories, Kinmen and Matsu Island, which are still under its control.

    The Taiwan Relations Act, Section 15, clearly defined two terms:  “laws of the United States ” and “Taiwan”.  It simply tells us that the TRA is the law of the USA, and Taiwan includes the islands of Taiwan and the Pescadores, ….and the governing authorities in Taiwan recognized by the United States, such as the Republic of China prior to January 1, 1979 and any succeeding  governing authorities. Taiwan Relations Act was legally meant to be the Taiwan Enabling Act, which authorizes the Taiwanese to establish a Taiwanese government as the Succeeding  governing authorities to replace the current governing authorities, the ROC exiled in Taiwan.

    Now it is time to remove the ROC from Taiwan to its own territories, Kinmen and Matsu islands. And this will meet the U.S. policy as stated in the America COMPETES Act of 2022, which referred to Taiwan as Taiwan, not Taipei, not Chinese Taiwan, and not ROC/Taiwan.  It’s the only way and the best solution to terminate the Chinese factor in Taiwan.  ROC is not Taiwan.

    According to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, in Article 23a, the United States of America was designated as the principal occupying power over Japanese overseas territories which the Japanese government renounced as stated in the Article 2, Including Formosa and the Pescadores.

    It is imperative that the United States of America as a Member of the United Nations assume its responsibilities for the administration of Taiwan and the Pescadores and carry on the sacred trustee obligations to promote the best interests of the inhabitants of these territories to attain a full measure of self-government, honoring the UN Charter Article 73.

    To achieve this goal, the United States should support a new governing authority in Taiwan, a successor to the ROC, which has to be totally organized by the people of Taiwan, according to the Taiwan Relations Act, Section 15.

    Let Taiwan be Taiwan!  Stop compromising Taiwan!

    May God bless Taiwan and the United States of America

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