“It is shocking that Denmark is telling Taiwan’s 24 million inhabitants that they are Chinese and may no longer stands by its ‘one-China policy’, which until now has not taken a position on Taiwan’s status. The Danish step occurs in a world where the contrast between democracies and authoritarian regimes like China is increasing when it comes to morals and ideology. Denmark has taken a stance and today registers Taiwanese as citizens of China. Denmark thus believes that we can simply tell Taiwanese where they belong without asking the Taiwanese. This registration has been revealed by the Danish newspaper Berlingske on March 24 written by Alexander Sjöberg and Tobias Reinwald”, says Michael Danielsen, chairman of Taiwan Corner.
“This can be a paradigm shift in Denmark’s policy, and we are going alone in the EU. Denmark’s ‘one-China policy’ simply states that we recognize China and not Taiwan, and therefore Denmark does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Period. In my view, it has been implied that Taiwan is not considered part of China, as previous registrations of Taiwanese in Denmark show. We are now on the way to our ‘one-China policy’ being replaced with China’s own ‘one-China principle’. If these thoughts spread to the rest of the EU countries, Taiwan will have an even harder time in the fight against China, and the tendency in the EU in recent years towards greater recognition of Taiwan is rolled back to zero”, tells Michael Danielsen.
The difference between China’s ‘one-China principle’ and the West’s various ‘one-China policies’ is that the West’s policy does not take a position on Taiwan’s affiliation with China.
”Taiwanese citizens have several special rights regarding taxes, entries, and driving licenses. Should the Danish initiative be understood in such a way that these rights are now being revoked from Taiwanese citizens in Denmark? Or are these rights that continue so Denmark can say that the rights are intact while the rest are just national sentiments, which we in Denmark cannot concern ourselves with?”, asks Michael Danielsen.
References
Berlingske Newspaper article in Danish published on Sunday March 24: ”De er fra Taiwan, men Danmark registrerer dem, som er de fra Kina” af Alexander Sjöberg og Tobias Reinwald.
