Norwegian National Day Marked – In Taiwan!

The gathering to celebrate Norwegian National Day - C: TDDA

Around 70 Taiwanese and Norwegian nationals gathered in Taipei on Sunday to celebrate Norwegian National Day.

In an event that involved both a parade and a flag raising ceremony, several Norwegian nationals joined around 60 members of the local NGO, Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association (TDDA) for the event that began in Da’an District, eventually moving north through the Jian Guo Flower Market (see image below) to the nearby Taiwan Contemporary Culture Laboratory.

Speaking at the event, TDDA Chairwoman Kuo Chia-yo said “Interactions between Norway and Taiwan usually involve business or government issues. We hope today’s event will bring the civil societies of the two countries closer” according to Taiwanese government media.

Parade time

It is understood that there are fewer than 20 Norwegian nationals in Taiwan at present, the majority of them students.

Norway has no formal or even informal relationship with Taiwan. The Norwegian trade office to Taiwan in Taipei was closed around 16 years ago, with the Taiwanese office in Oslo also shutting its doors back in 2017.

Mark Buckton

Mark is a journalism vet of 20 years with most of those years spent in Tokyo, Japan, as a columnist for The Japan Times and numerous other publications. His work has appeared on CNN, in the BBC, NPR, and in several dozen other media forms and publications across five continents.