Finland-Taiwan Relations: An Overview and Changes after COVID-19 Pandemic

Julie Yu-Wen Chen and Jyrki Kallio
Abstract:
Despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations between Finland and Taiwan, the two sides have maintained a practical relationship through trade, tourism, and educational and cultural exchanges. The COVID-19 pandemic has created some favorable ground for certain breakthroughs, be it in terms of the Finnish government’s action plan to support Taiwan’s meaningful international participation, Finnish reports that offer more diverse views on Taiwan’s society beyond international politics, or a Finnish parliamentarian’s help in implementing Taiwan’s mask diplomacy in the Finnish context. In general, the Foreign Ministry in Finland has been vigilant in ensuring that the One China Policy does not become unnecessarily restrictive. Finland has been quietly raising the profile of bilateral relations with Taiwan. Although trade was disrupted at the beginning of the pandemic, it managed to grow afterwards. According to the Finnish government’s calculation, trade in goods between Taiwan and Finland between January and November 2021 was already higher than the same period in 2020. In sum, the pandemic did stall tourism but not bilateral trade. In addition, Taiwan’s overall visibility appears to have grown in Finnish society, as exemplified in the increasing coverage of Taiwan-related news in Finland’s largest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
Related Publications
-
An Interview with Professor Torbjörn Lodén: EU and U.S. Relations with China in Retrospect and Looking Ahead
The Institute for Security & Development Policy (ISDP) has for the past three years had the honor and privilege of Professor Torbjörn Lodén serving as its Head of the Stockholm […]
-
Messaging Mayhem: The EU’s Struggle for Clarity on Israel-Palestine
Few long-standing conflicts evoke such intense discussions and foreign policy debates as Israel-Palestine, be it within or between the European Union’s 27 member states – informed by differing historical and […]
-
Contemporary Hong Kong-Taiwan Relations in China’s Shadow
On November 25, 2022, the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) arranged a webinar titled “Contemporary Hong Kong-Taiwan Relations in the Shadow of the People’s Republic of China”. The […]
-
Russia-DPRK Space Cooperation: It’s Politics, Not Science
The recent Vostochny summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has attracted much international attention. The fact that both leaders pledged to strengthen bilateral […]
-
Taiwan’s Southbound Drive towards Southeast Asia
This article examines Taiwan’s foreign policy towards Southeast Asia during Ma Ying-jeou’s two-term (2008–2016) and Tsai Ing-wen’s first-term (2016–2020) presidencies. It discusses the context of East Asian regionalization and regionalism, […]
-
Risk Reduction and Crisis Management on the Korean Peninsula
The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inherently intertwined with the growing instability of the East Asian security environment, where high tensions significantly increase the risk of unintended incidents and armed […]