Denmark’s policy of listing Taiwanese residents as Chinese on official documents has sparked legal and diplomatic concerns. The issue was raised in the Danish Parliament on January 31, where Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen clarified that while individual authorities have some discretion, Danish records cannot list “Taiwan” as a nationality. This approach aligns with Denmark’s one-China policy to avoid implying recognition of Taiwan as an independent state, he claimed.
Andreas Boje Forsby, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, has questioned the legal foundation of this requirement, warning that it could set a precedent for other EU countries. Currently, Luxembourg is the only other European nation known to follow a similar practice.
The policy, introduced by Denmark’s Ministry of Digital Affairs in 2021, requires that documents issued to Taiwanese citizens list “China” as the place of birth, with “Taiwan” included only as supplementary information.
The policy has raised concerns among Taiwanese nationals living in Denmark, as well as those following Nordic-Asia relations. As diplomatic tensions over Taiwan continue, the implications of such policies will likely remain a point of discussion in Denmark’s relations with China and Taiwan.
