The national day reception of Republic of China was held already on the 28th of September this year to match the Swedish parliamentarians’ schedule. More than 200 people, including 12 members from the Swedish parliament, senior government officials, diplomatic corps, think tanks, scholars, overseas Chinese and overseas students, attended the party to celebrate the 105th anniversary of Republic of China, which took place at Sheraton Hotel.
During the reception, Margareta Cederfelt, member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs of Sweden, made a speech on behalf of the "Swedish Taiwanese Parliamentary Association". She talked about the visit to Taiwan that a Swedish parliamentary delegation made earlier this year in January. The delegation was impressed by the progress of Taiwan´s political and economic development. She also praised the work of the representative office in Sweden which has led to a steady growth of relations between Taiwan and Sweden. Finally, she proposed a toast to congratulate the Republic of China on its longevity as well as for continued friendship between Taiwan and Sweden.
In his speech, Ambassador Liao said that since President Tsai Ing-wen had taken office, the government of the Republic of China has adhered to the universal values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, and will work closely with the international community on the basis of mutual benefit. Ambassador Liao stressed that, in expanding international space, the new government will adopt "practical diplomacy" and promote the "new southward policy" so as to enhance our international status and making our country an indispensable and respected member of the international community. Ambassador Liao also talked about the "Five major industrial development objectives" which is part of the government's economic and trade strategy of "Connecting the Future, Linking the World, Linking to the Land" promoted by our government and he looked forward to further strengthening of the economic cooperation between Taiwan and Sweden in the future.
Ambassador Liao expressed his gratitude to the Swedish people for their concern for the recent typhoons in Taiwan. He also stressed that the effective leadership of the Taiwanese government and the perseverance of the people will be able to weather the storm as soon as possible. Lastly, Ambassador Liao talked warmly of Taiwan's beautiful mountains, good water, delicious food and the friendly people and he welcomed everyone to visit our beautiful island.
In order to enhance the atmosphere of this year's National Day reception, the representative office invited the pianist Chen Rui-xiu, flute player Chen Yingxiu, the soprano Hong Xiaohuan and the Swedish violin master Semmy Stahlhammer to perform Taiwanese and Swedish musical pieces.
