The Tribune has interviewed the Swedish delegation, who have somewhat presciently recognized Taiwan as the successor of the Republic of China in the United Nations. At the first UNSC session after the news broke, Sweden was first to call upon the UN for joint action by all members to retaliate against China in response to its invasion of Taiwan.
Tribune: First of all, why did you decide to recognize Taiwan as the rightful Republic of China at this point in time?
Sweden: In our opinion, it should have been recognized a long time ago. We believe that the People’s Republic of China is not the true successor of the Republic of China. As the name suggests, we believe that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a true democratic nation. And furthermore, this action on our part was initialized when the PRC randomly and brutally placed an unprovoked trade embargo on Sweden. We retaliated appropriately by placing our own trade embargo on the part of the entire EU and jointly with the UK, US, Canada and Norway on meat products and furniture. Our superior IKEA furniture is of great strategic importance in our relations with China. But, of course, this was not enough. We had to recognize the Republic of China as well.
Tribune: If not the PRC, then who do you consider to be a good strategic partner for Sweden? What interests does a country have to share with you in order for you to initiate cooperation?
Sweden: Recognition of the Republic of China is our first condition. Any country willing to work with us should be using the proper pronouns, they should support gender equality and promote diversity. They should be buying furniture from the right place, of course. But, we are willing to work with anyone. We recently made a vodka and hard liquors deal with the Russian Federation and Estonia. We used to be good pals, but since the Cold War our relationships have ‘cooled down’. We struck the deal to deepen the friendship between our nations.
Tribune: On the Working Paper III: You stated on the discussion floor that you disagree with the definition of which countries should have the right to vote on Arctic Circle issues. In what way could it be improved?
Sweden: Sweden does not border the Arctic Ocean, but we are in the geographic area of the Arctic Circle, so we would like the definition to include states in the entire Arctic Circle area, but we do not recognize the claim as near-Arctic state of the PRC.
Tribune: The final version of the Working Paper will require some concessions on certain issues by all delegations. On which issues will you not concede?
Sweden: We will not give up our national sovereignty. We disagree that arctic states should limit their military presence, the military is an important player in defending our sovereignty. We will also not compromise on the protection of the rights of our indigenous group, the Sami people.