On the afternoon of May 16, Legislative Yuan Vice President Dr. Johnny Chiang met the four-member delegation led by the Riksdag MP Margareta Cederfelt of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense accompanied by DPP Legislator Lai Hui-yuan, who is concurrently the vice chair of Taiwan- Nordic Countries and Baltic States Parliamentary Friendship Association, KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting and TPP Legislator Mai Yu-chen, International Affairs Department Director Kevin C.F. Lin, and European Affairs Department Director General Eric Huang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet the four-member delegation led by the Riksdag MP Margareta Cederfelt of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense.
江副院長首先代表韓國瑜院長誠摯歡迎訪賓的蒞臨，並說明韓院長因主持黨團協商會議而無法親迎來自瑞典國會的好朋友，盼同為國會議員的訪團成員能夠諒解，並隨即逐一介紹出席之三位立法院黨團代表。江副院長表示，瑞典在地理上雖然與台灣相隔千里，但在台灣的我們卻覺得非常親切，因為瑞典許多知名品牌遍布於我們的日常生活中，特別是大家愛用的IKEA居家產品，在台灣有許多分店，其中業績最好的分店就在他的家鄉台中。除此之外，購物商場常見的快時尚服裝品牌H&M、馬路上常見的Volvo汽車等都是來自瑞典的知名公司，而全球排名第二大的家用電器製造商伊萊克斯（Electrolux）也是來自於瑞典。
On behalf of President Daniel Han, Vice President Chiang extended a warm welcome to the delegation. He apologized to the delegation that President Han was not able to meet the delegation in person because he was presiding over a cross-party negotiation. He hoped to have their understanding as they are all parliamentarians as well. Vice President Chiang introduced the legislators from the three party caucuses. Vice President Chiang stated that although Sweden is geographically distant from Taiwan, we feel very close to each other, because there are many Swedish brands that are household names in our daily lives. One of the examples is IKEA, which has a lot of branches. It happens that the branch with the top revenues is in his hometown Taichung City. In addition, the fast fashion brand H&M and Volvo automobiles, and the second largest home appliance brand Electrolux are all from Sweden.
江副院長續稱，瑞典的人口總數雖然不多，但在工業、科技及教育等領域都相當頂尖，瑞典與我國雖然沒有正式的外交關係，但兩國間長期以來都保持著良好的經貿關係，且我們共享自由、民主、法治與人權等普世價值，尤其在社會福利、環保議題以及對婦權、人權的尊重與維護等方面，都同様受到國際讚譽與肯定。在環保議題上，瑞典向來被公認為世界的環保先鋒，不但於1967年成為全球第一個通過環境保護法案的國家，更致力於2045年成為世界上第一個達到淨零排放者。瑞典在追求發展經濟的同時，更重視環境保護及永續發展，希望未來台瑞兩國能在環保議題上能有更深入的合作，相信這也是立法院跨黨派委員們共同的期盼。
He continued to state that although Sweden’s population is not large, it is advanced in industry, high-tech and education. Although Sweden does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, we have enjoyed longstanding cordial economic and trade relations. In addition, we share the universal values of freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights. Sweden is widely recognized for its achievements in social welfare, environmental protection, respect and protection of women’s rights and human rights. As the vanguard of environmental protection, Sweden marked the first country to pass environmental protection bill in 1967 and is committed to be the first country to obtain the goal of net zero in 2045. As Sweden pursues economic development, it underscores the importance of environmental protection and sustainable development. He hoped that Taiwan and Sweden will have more cooperation. He believed this is also the shared aspiration of cross-party legislators.
江副院長繼強調，未來持續透過國會之間的交流，強化兩國間各領域的合作，也希望瑞典持續支持台灣有意義參與「世界衛生組織」（WHO）、「聯合國氣候變化綱要公約」（UNFCCC）等重要國際組織。
Vice President Chiang continued to stress that in the future through parliamentary exchanges, cooperation in all domains can be further strengthened. He also hoped that Sweden will continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in World Health Organization, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other important international organizations.
席德斐（Margareta CEDERFELT）團長致詞時，首先對江副院長及三黨團代表撥冗會晤表達感謝，並逐一介紹訪團的跨黨派議員。她繼指出，「台瑞（典）國會議員協會」在瑞典國會中非常地活躍，加上我國駐瑞典代表處谷瑞生大使舉辦許多活動及座談會，讓瑞典人民對台灣的認識更加深入，特別是對於台灣前幾年對抗新冠肺炎的卓越表現，讓各國印象深刻，著實值得全世界學習。席團長強調，瑞典將持續支持台灣有意義參與相關國際組織，「台瑞（典）國會議員協會」也將不間斷地以各種方式來表達對台灣的支持。如同江副院長所提及，台灣與瑞典之間不管是在商務、醫療、教育等領域都有許多的交流及共同利益，加上台灣不論是高科技及半導體產業在全球佔有重要地位，絕對是與瑞典合作的好夥伴。席團長續盛讚台灣的民主表現，特別是在現今詭譎的國際局勢中，大多數國家的民主表現都在倒退，但台灣卻仍能逆勢成長、持續進步，除了通過同性婚姻平權相關立法，今年大選後台灣的國會呈現三黨不過半的全新政治局面，再次落實了民主制度的成熟運作，因此她很期待此行訪台的各項活動，也更期待透過這次訪問，找到更多未來雙邊互惠合作的契機。
In her speech, MP Margareta Cederfelt expressed her appreciation to Vice President Chiang and the legislators of three party caucuses for their time to meet the delegation and she introduced the cross-party member of the delegations. She continued point out that Sweden-Taiwan Friendship Group in the Riksdag has been very active. Dr. Klement Ruey-sheng Gu, Representative of Taipei Mission in Sweden organizes various activities and seminars to promote the Swedish people’s understanding about Taiwan. It is worth noting that Taiwan’s outstanding anti-pandemic efforts several years ago impressed the world and are worthy for the world to emulate. She underscored that Sweden would continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in various international organizations. Sweden-Taiwan Friendship Group will continue to support Taiwan in various ways. As Vice President Chiang mentioned Taiwan and Sweden have exchanges and share interests in all domains such as commerce, medicine and education. Taiwan is a global player in high technology and semiconductor and is a great partner for Sweden. She continued to praise Taiwan’s democratic achievements. Especially facing today’s complicated international situation, democracy in most countries is backsliding, but Taiwan continues to flourish. In addition to passing bills related with same-sex marriage, no political party has an absolute majority in the Legislative Yuan after this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections. This new political situation once again demonstrates Taiwan’s full-fledged democracy. Therefore, she looked forward to the visiting programs of this visit. She hoped to find more opportunities for bilateral reciprocal cooperation through this visit.
雙邊交流時，賴惠員委員首先代表「台灣與北歐五國及波海三國國會議員友好協會」歡迎瑞典國會跨黨派議員來訪，她與即將就任的賴總統來自同一個城市-台南，非常歡迎各位訪賓也到今年慶祝建城400年的台南走走，並順訪台南科學園區及台積電等高科技產業。麥玉珍委員表示，她特別關心提高生育率的問題，盼向訪團就教瑞典的相關政策及鼓勵措施。牛煦庭委員則表示，瑞典最有名的「利樂包」工廠就在他的選區-桃園龜山，瑞典是非常進步且成熟的國家，在環境保護方面擁有崇高的國際地位，台灣雖然面對著艱困的外交處境，但在對抗氣候變遷等全球性議題上，我們絕對不會缺席，也希望聆聽訪賓分享寶貴的經驗。
During engagements, DPP Legislator Lai Hui-yuan, on behalf of Taiwan- Nordic Countries and Baltic States Parliamentary Friendship Association, stated that she comes from the same city with President Lai, Tainan City. She extended an invitation to the delegation to Tainan City, that is going to celebrate the 400 anniversary this year. The delegation can also visit Tainan Science Park and TSMC. TPP Legislator Mai Yu-chen noted that her priority issue is birth rate. She asked the delegation about Sweden’s incentive policy. KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting stated that the famous Tetra Pak factory is in his constituency Guishan district of Taoyuan. Sweden is an advanced and mature country and is internationally recognized for its environmental protection. Although Taiwan confronts diplomatic challenges, it will play a role in combating climate change and other global issues. He hoped the delegation will share their valuable experiences in this regard.
席德斐團長回應麥玉珍委員所提如何提高生育率的議題表示，瑞典的生育率其實也沒有想像中那麼高，仍低於其國家目標值2.1%，但近年瑞典政府積極推出許多鼓勵政策以提升生育率，包括公共托育、育嬰假以及家長可請幼童照顧假，除可減輕家庭的負擔，更能提升女性的勞動力參與、保障婦女工作權。她也特別提及，此次訪台發現立法院女性委員的比例大幅提高，對於這些年來台灣在各方面的長足進步，她感到非常驚喜與佩服。In her response to TPP Legislator Mai Yu-chen’s inquiry about birth rate, MP Margareta Cederfelt responded by sharing that Sweden’s birth rate is not as high as expected, lower than its national target of 2.1%. However, the Swedish government has carried out many incentives to increase birth rate such as public childcare, maternal leave and parental leave to share the burden to increase women labor participation and protect women working rights. She especially mentioned that she found the women legislator’s ratio has dramatically increased in the Legislative Yuan. She was amazed and admired the tremendous progress Taiwan has made in many ways these years.
江啟臣副院長認同稱，我國長期推動性別平等及性別主流化工作已有具體成效，從立法委員選舉觀之，當選的女性立委比例從2008年的30.1%，提升到本年的41.6%。女性在職場上有著很卓越的表現，期望未來能出現女性委員擔任立法院院長及副院長。
Vice President Chiang agreed and pointed out that Taiwan has seen concrete results in promoting gender equality and gender mainstreaming for years. In terms of this legislative elections, the ratio of woman’s legislators has increased from 30.1% in 2008 to 41.6% this year. Women have remarkable achievements in workplace. He hoped to see a woman legislative speaker or deputy speaker in the future.
江副院長及三黨團代表另與訪團成員就性別平等、淨零排放、民主自由與政經發展、提升生育率、年輕世代政治參與等議題廣泛交換意見，會晤歷約50分鐘，氣氛友好愉快，雙方最後互贈紀念品及合影，為今日會晤畫下圓滿的句點。
Vice President Chiang, the three legislators and the delegation exchanged views on issues of gender equality, net zero emission, democracy, freedom political and economic development, incentives to increase birth rate, young generation political participation and others. The meeting lasted for nearly 50 minutes and concluded in an amicable atmosphere after exchange of gifts and group photos.
備註：訪賓名單
1. 瑞典國會議員席德斐（Margareta CEDERFELT）
2. 瑞典國會議員傅賽酋（Joar FORSSELL）
3. 瑞典國會議員柏格麥（Mats BERGLUND）
4. 瑞典國會議員奕雅敏（Yasmine ERIKSSON）
