Norwegian State Visit to China: 11-19 October

eya · #1 10-03-2018, 04:26 PM

King Harald and Queen Sonja after the invitation of the President of China Xi Jinping will visit China on a StateVisit next week 11-19 October

Statsbesøk til Kina - kongehuset.no

ROYAL NORWAY · #2 10-09-2018, 01:04 PM

Thanks eya!

As some of you may know, the relationship between Norway and China has not been the best in recent years, read about it in posts 88, 93 & 95 in this thread: http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...ml#post2140529

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English article (written on October 4th) by Oskar Aanmoen: King Harald and Queen Sonja on their way to China – Royal Central

Quote:

Their Majesties are accompanied by Norway’s Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide and Minister of Industry Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, as well as State Secretaries from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. A record-large business delegation with around 310 participants from culture, sports, research and higher education will also accompany Harald and Sonja during the visit.

(1) The royals have already left Norway to travel to China as a way to get used to the new time zone and have a small holiday before the extended state visit begins. His Royal Highness (2) Crown Prince Haakon is, therefore, proclaimed temporary monarch of Norway. Tomorrow, he will perform the weekly Council of State alone, as he will the next week while his father is in the Far East.

1. They did that for the state visits to Turkey (in November, 2013), Myanmar (in December, 2014), Australia (in February, 2015) and Argentina (in April, 2018) as well. - And this is to be expected when one sends a frail 81-year-old monarch on long-haul sate visits (writes a bit about that too, in the above thread).
2. Well, if the Norwegian monarch is abroad or unable to perform his/her duties, the heir to the throne is ''regent,'' which means that he/she temporarily takes over the monarch's constitutional responsibility, NOT that he/she is ''proclaimed temporary monarch of Norway.''

Or to be more exact, article 41 in the Norwegian Constitution states:

Quote:

If the King is absent from the realm unless commanding in the field, or if he is so ill that he cannot attend to the Government, the person next entitled to succeed to the throne shall, provided that he has attained the age stipulated for the King's majority, conduct the Government as the temporary executor of the Royal Powers. If this is not the case, the Council of State will conduct the administration of the realm.

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Palace silent about inflamed issue before China-visit: Slottet taus om betent tema før Kina-besøk - Nettavisen.

Quote:

Slottet vil ikke svare på spørsmål om hvorvidt kongeparet vil benytte anledningen til å skape oppmerksomhet rundt menneskerettighetssituasjonen i Kina.

- Når kongen og dronningen reiser på statsbesøk så skjer det på vegne av regjeringen. Utenriksdepartementet er derfor rett adressat for disse spørsmålene, opplyser kommunikasjonssjef ved Slottet, Guri Varpe, i en uttalelse til Nettavisen.

Translated to: The palace will not answer questions as to whether the king will take the opportunity to draw attention to the human-rights-situation in China.

"When the King and Queen travels on state visits, it happens on behalf of the government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is therefore the right addressee for these questions,'' says Communications Manager at the court, Guri Varpe, in a statement to Nettavisen.

Well, didn't know that Nettavisen was that ignorant, or perhaps they just wrote it to have something stupid to say.
Because when it comes to State Visits, the Norwegian apolitical monarch (as in other European constitutional monarchies) represents his/her government and does what they wants him/her to do/say.

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First State Visit in 21 years: - Norwegian businesses is heading for a sales tour with the King: Første statsbesøk på 21 år:– Norsk næringsliv drar på salgsturné med kongen - NRK

Quote:

– Det er viktig at ikke menneskerettighetsbruddene drukner i lakseindustrien, sier John Peder Egenæs, generalsekretær i Amnesty Norge.

Om en uke sender Norge flere titalls toppolitikere, hundrevis av byråkrater og over 300 næringslivstopper til Kina.

I spissen av delegasjonen står kongeparet.

– Næringslivet som reiser med kongen skal på frierferd. Dette er en slags salgsturné. Det fine med kongen er at han åpner alle dører helt til topps, sier Torger Reve, professor i strategi og industriell konkurranseevne ved Handelshøyskolen BI.

Translated to: ''It's important that human-rights-violations don't drown in the salmon industry," says John Peder Egenæs, Secretary General of Amnesty Norway.

In a week, Norway sends several dozens of top-politicians, hundreds of bureaucrats and over 300 business people to China.

At the head of the delegation is the Regent-Couple.

''The business community who travels with the King is on a courting. This is a kind of sales-tour. The great thing about the king is that he opens all the doors to the top," says Torger Reve, professor of strategy and industrial competitiveness at The Norwegian Business School (BI).

ROYAL NORWAY · #3 10-11-2018, 09:00 AM

The Regent-Couple have been welcomed to the city of Dunhuang in the Gansu province, where they will have a range of engagements tomorrow (I will go through them later).

Here are some photos. - And as you can see from the first one, He Wei (Deputy Governor of the Gansu Province) took the King's hand to help him down the last steps from the plane:
https://scanpix.no/spWebApp/preview/editorial/td42ce97
https://scanpix.no/spWebApp/preview/editorial/td42ce51
https://scanpix.no/spWebApp/preview/editorial/td42ce8d

Articles:

Here (see photo in the article), the Regent-Couple begins ''the'' (''deres/their,'' as I would've written) state visit to China. - Nearly one million people are detained in the neighboring province: Her starter kongeparet statsbesøket i Kina. I naboprovinsen holdes nær én million mennesker internert - Dagbladet.

Quote:

Han mener det er viktig at både kongeparet, den politiske ledelsen og de norske bedriftene som er med i delegasjonen under statsbesøket, har menneskerettighetssituasjonen i bakholdet under besøket.

- Amnesty forventer at kongen gjør jobben sin og står for norske verdier. Det er ikke hans rolle å diskutere rettighetene til navngitte dissidenter men å vise tydelig at han står for verdiene som Norge står for, som frihet og demokrati. Kongen har vist før at dette er han god på. Det er viktig fordi det setter tonen. Vi er ikke her bare for å tjene penger, sier han.

Translated to: Gerald Kador Folkvord (China expert and advisor at Amnesty International), believes it's important that both the Regent-Couple, the political leadership and the Norwegian companies that participate in the delegation during the state visit have the human-rights-situation in mind during the visit.

"Amnesty expects the King to do his job and stand for Norwegian values. It's not his role to discuss the rights of named dissidents, but to show clearly that he stands for the values that Norway stands for, such as freedom and democracy. The King has previously shown that he is good at this. It's important because it sets the tone. We are not here just to make money, he says''.

Yes, he has (in terms of his speeches and interview here in Norway), but as I wrote in the above post: ''When it comes to State Visits, the Norwegian apolitical monarch (as in other European constitutional monarchies) represents his/her government and does what they want him/her to do/say.''

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Here (see photo in the article), the Regent-Couple are ''on'' (''under/during deres/their,'' as I would've written) China-Tour in 1997. - Today they arrive in a "brand new" China: Her er kongeparet på Kina-tur i 1997. I dag ankommer de et «helt nytt» Kina - TV 2

Quote:

Sist gang kongeparet var på statsbesøk til Kina var i 1997. Årets besøk markerer en viktig utvikling i forholdet mellom Kina og Norge, etter den iskalde diplomatiske situasjonen som har preget landene de siste årene.

– Kongeparet vil nok se veldig store forandringer. Det vi ser i Kina er en utvikling på godt og vondt, sier Torbjørn Færøvik, Kina-ekspert og forfatter, til TV 2.

Han peker blant utviklingene i de store byene, hvor den økonomiske utviklingen har vært sterk de siste ti årene.

– Det er en rekke menneskerettighetsproblemer som har hopet seg opp over tid. Det er et mer selvsikkert og arrogant Kina, mener han.

Translated to: The last time the Regent-Couple visited China was in 1997. This year's visit marks a significant development in the relationship between China and Norway, following the ice-cold diplomatic situation that has characterized the countries in recent years.

"The Regent-Couple will probably see very big changes. What we see in China is a development of good and bad," says Torbjørn Færøvik (China Expert and Author) to TV 2.

He points to the developments in the big cities, where economic developments have been strong over the past ten years.

(''Men/But'' or ''Derimot/However,'' as I would have written) "There are a number of human-rights-issues that have accumulated over time. It's a more confident and arrogant China,'' he believes.

Well, Norwegian journalists are not what would describe as "geniuses" when it comes to writing or describing what people are saying, and that's why the sentences goes from one-thing to the other without something in the middle.

Muhler · #4 10-11-2018, 11:24 AM

Thanks, Royal Norway.

Yes, the Muslim majority in that part of China, especially the Uighurs, are causing problems...
And no, no, no, Royal Norway! It's not a case of oppression and interment of one million people, it's merely one million individual cases of detaining a troublesome individual pending police investigation...

China's way of - quelling - the problem with the locals is interesting! And very long term. They are "encouraging" millions of ethnic Chinese to settle in the province offering various advantages. And as the Chinese press don't talk about the problems there - there are no problems...
So after two or three generations the number of ethnic Chinese should be at least on par with the Muslim population. Changing the socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural balance of the area.
All the ethnic Chinese are pro-government and the Uighurs who benefit from servicing and trading with ethnic Chinese are also pro-government.

Making it ever more difficult for a Muslim insurrection to take place or a Muslim underground movement to operate.

ROYAL NORWAY · #5 10-11-2018, 04:17 PM

You're welcome!

And please, don't get me started.

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Well, the court has again been forced to explain Norwegian journalists that ''Utenriksdepartementet håndterer de politiske spørsmålene under statsbesøk, fordi kongen jo da representerer regjeringen'' (''The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles the political issues during state visits, because the King, then, represents the government'').
You know, some in the media here, believes that the King (due to his inspirational speeches) is a kind of peace-guru/human-rights-activist or something.
Hmm???? The last time I checked, he was an apolitical constitutional monarch (and a pretty AMAZING one, actually).

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And now to all the people who are with the Regent-Couple on this visit:
Well, in addition to the ministers, state secretaries and a record-large business delegation (which one can read about in post 2), they are also accompanied by a bunch of courtiers. - Including the The Lord Chamberlain, The Communications Manager, their private-secretaries, The Queen's dressers/hairdresser and 4 ''lackeys'' (''footmen'').

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I also promised to go through the programme for tomorrow (October 12th), so here it is:
The King and Queen visits the Gansu Dunhuang Solar Park (11:30).
The King and Queen visits Dunhuang City Kidergarten (15:00).
The King and Queen visits the seminar “Education for sustainability” (Dunhuang, 15:30).
The King and Queen meet with representatives of the local authorities in Gansu Province. The meeting is followed by an official dinner (18.30).

That's what we know, and the rest of the program has not been released yet.

Muhler · #6 10-11-2018, 04:21 PM

The journalists know that perfectly, otherwise they would soon be demoted to only cover flower-exhibitions at Lofoten!
It's sheer provocation from the press IMO.

**iceflower** · #7 10-12-2018, 07:04 AM

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King Harald and Queen Sonja visiting Gansu Dunhuang Solar Park and Dunhuang City Kindergarten today, October 12:

** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 ** Pic 5 ** Pic 6 ** Pic 7 ** Pic 8 **

ROYAL NORWAY · #8 10-12-2018, 09:43 AM

Thanks iceflower!

English Royal House article with a lot of information about the engagements in the city of Dunhuang (FINALLY some information): State Visit to China - The Royal House of Norway.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Muhler

The journalists know that perfectly, otherwise they would soon be demoted to only cover flower-exhibitions at Lofoten!
It's sheer provocation from the press IMO.

Yes, of course they know! But Amnesty Norway believes that the King should go against the Norwegian government and take it up, regardless what they've advised him to say, since neither the PM nor other ministers would dare to criticize him anyway (due to his enormous popularity). - And that makes these journalists/commentators a bit ''too overexcited,'' you know.

Muhler · #9 10-12-2018, 10:26 AM

Yeah right!

The King should, on his own initiative, start a foreign political controversy? and During a foreign state visit?
After the Norwegian governments have spend a lot of time and effort in getting the visit up and running.

Exactly who, outside Amnesty Norway, would thank the King for that?

Sometimes...

(Well, I PM'ed you in English, Royal Norway. It's sometimes difficult to keep all these languages separate.

)

ROYAL NORWAY · #10 10-12-2018, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muhler

Yeah right!

The King should, on his own initiative, start a foreign political controversy? and During a foreign state visit?
After the Norwegian governments have spend a lot of time and effort in getting the visit up and running.

Exactly who, outside Amnesty Norway, would thank the King for that?

Sometimes...

(Well, I PM'ed you in English, Royal Norway. It's sometimes difficult to keep all these languages separate.

)

Well, the left-wing/socialist politicians in the Storting and some liberal commentators/journalists would literally LOVE it.
The rest of the bunch (by that I mean the government and some of the more conservative MPs/commentators) would probably be quite pissed, but they'll keep it to themselves, because something else could mean political/journalistic suicide.
But most importantly: The king knows VERY well (after almost 28 years at the throne) that he is an apolitical constitutional monarch who represents his government on a state visit, and that he ''then'' says what he is asked to say!

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Muhler

(Well, I PM'ed you in English, Royal Norway. It's sometimes difficult to keep all these languages separate.

)

Saw it! - And think I did the same to you, earlier this week.

Although, I must say that I prefer that we take it in Norwegian/Danish, as we usually do (easier, you know).

ROYAL NORWAY · #11 10-12-2018, 04:02 PM

Poorly translated, but readable NTB (Norwegian News Agency) article: Showed prestige project to the Royals - Norway Today.

Tomorrow's programme, October 13th:
The King and Queen visits the UNESCO listed Mogao Caves (Dunhuang, 10:20).
The King and Queen are officially welcomed to China and the city of Beijing (20:05).

Read more about the visit to the Mogao Caves in the Royal House article in post 8.

ROYAL NORWAY · #12 10-13-2018, 08:16 AM

Articles:

The King in China: - ''Will take up human rights'': Kongen i Kina: – Vil ta opp menneskerettigheter - NRK.

Quote:

Kongeparet møtte pressen tidlig i morges norsk tid og fikk spørsmål om hva de tenker om menneskerettighetssituasjonen i landet.

– Økonomisk er det fremgang i Kina, og så er det jo andre områder hvor de kanskje ikke har så stor fremgang. Vi som kommer fra Vesten er jo særlig opptatt av menneskerettighetene. Dette kommer vi til å ha en dialog med Kina om, og vi kommer helt sikkert til å få anledning til å ta opp dette senere, sier kong Harald til NRK.

– Vi har ikke tatt det opp foreløpig, for vi har ikke truffet de rette menneskene.

Tirsdag møter kongeparet president Xi Jinping i Beijing.

Kongeparet ble også konfrontert med en FN-rapport som viser at 1 millioner mennesker fra uigur-minoriteten sitter i omskoleringsleirer i landet.

– Jeg visste ikke om dette før jeg så det i avisen, men jeg tror helt sikkert at det er tilfelle, sier kongen.

Translated to: The Regent-Couple met the press early this morning (video in the article), Norwegian time, and received questions about what they think about the human-rights-situation in the country.

"Economically, there is progress in China, and then there are other areas where they may not have such great progress. We who come from the West are especially concerned about human-rights. This, we will have a dialogue with China about, and we will certainly get (I could have translated it to ''be given,'' but I think ''get'' fits more to what he said) an opportunity to address this later," said King Harald to NRK.

"We have not taken it up, yet, because we haven't met the right people.

On Tuesday, the Regent-Couple meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The King and Queen was also confronted with a UN report which shows that one million people from the Uighur minority are held in re-education camps in the country.

"I didn't know this before I saw it in the newspaper, but I certainly think that's the case," said the king (A bit weird that the court hasn't bothered to inform him about it until he ''saw it in the newspaper.'' - Hmm ????).

Well, as TV2's royal expert, Kjell Arne Totland, tried to explain some very excited news-anchors on TV2 News Channel, I'm pretty sure the King has consulted with his government - and that they've given him a GO to take it up.

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The Queen's 33 year old dream fulfilled: Dronningen fikk oppfylt 33 år gammel drøm - ABC.

Quote:

Helt siden dronning Sonja hørte om Mogao-grottene i 1985, har hun drømt om å reise dit. Denne helgen ble drømmen oppfylt.

– Det er virkelig morsomt, sa en engasjert dronning etter å ha kikket seg rundt i noen av de 492 grottene – som til sammen inneholder 45.000 kvadratmeter med murmalerier og 2.000 skulpturer i Dunhuang i Kina.

Translated to: Ever since Queen Sonja heard about the Mogao Caves in 1985, she dreamed about going there. This weekend the dream was fulfilled (photos in the article).

"It's really funny," said an engaged Queen after looking around in some of the 492 caves - which together contain 45,000 square meters of murals and 2,000 sculptures in Dunhuang, China.

marian · #13 10-13-2018, 11:03 AM

Hi, I'm going to ask a question off topic maybe. I want to know if King Harald has a tendency towards American politics, because, for example, when his ex-son-in-law Ari Benh made the video where he speaks against the policy of the then President Bush, and in favor of the Arabs, who made the King would not allow him to participate in royal activities ... so the king is pro American? because he did not accept the criticism of his then future son-in-law to Bush's policy, can anyone answer me?

eya · #14 10-13-2018, 11:31 AM

[QUOTE=ROYAL NORWAY[QUOTE

Now they're heading to Beijing.[/QUOTE]

And yes the King and Queen arrived the capital Beijing this evening!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo4MvtLA...norskekongehus

ROYAL NORWAY · #15 10-13-2018, 02:31 PM

English Royal House article with a lot of information about the visits to the Mogao Caves, earlier today:

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Quote:

Originally Posted by marian

Hi, I'm going to ask a question off topic maybe. I want to know if King Harald has a tendency towards American politics, because, for example, when his ex-son-in-law Ari Benh made the video where he speaks against the policy of the then President Bush, and in favor of the Arabs, who made the King would not allow him to participate in royal activities ... so the king is pro American? because he did not accept the criticism of his then future son-in-law to Bush's policy, can anyone answer me?

I was only 11-years-old when that TV2-documentary (not ''video'') was sent in January 2002, but I've read about it later, so here are two important facts from me to you:
1. Ari Behn (as Erling Lorentzen & Johan Martin Ferner, the King's brothers-in-law) was never intended to carry out royal duties.
2. The King has NEVER shown any signs that he is pro-American.

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Continuation of post 12:
The king is now praised by John Peder Egenæs, Secretary General of Amnesty Norway, who says this to NRK: Jeg synes det er veldig gledelig og offensivt at kongen svarer på denne måten. Vi hadde forhåpninger om at han ville adressere det i talene han skal holde, men dette var faktisk mer enn jeg forventet.''
("I think it's very gratifying and offensive that the king answers in this way. We had hopes that he would address it in his speeches, but this was actually more than I expected.'')
Egenæs went even further on TV2 News Channel (where the state visit has been the main story throughout the day) and said that he ''applauds the King's statements'' - and ''the fact that HM said he will take up human-rights with Chinese authorities''.
He also said that the King ''went further'' than he has done on previous state visits, where he has told reporters, ''that this you have to talk to the politicians about.''

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Quote:

Originally Posted by eya

And yes the King and Queen arrived the capital Beijing this evening!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo4MvtLA...norskekongehus

Thanks eya!

Photo-Gallery in this Dagbladet article.

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BTW: The Regent-Couple will have a well-deserved rest-day tomorrow, before resuming their programme on Monday.

marian · #16 10-13-2018, 03:07 PM

[QUOTE=ROYAL NORWAY;2158407]English Royal House article with a lot of information about the visits to the Mogao Caves, earlier today:

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I was only 11-years-old when that TV2-documentary (not ''video'') was sent in January 2002, but I've read about it later, so here are two important facts from me to you:
1. Ari Behn (as Erling Lorentzen & Johan Martin Ferner, the King's brothers-in-law) was never intended to carry out royal duties.
2. The King has NEVER shown any signs that he is pro-American.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

ROYAL NORWAY · #17 10-13-2018, 05:30 PM

You're welcome!

BTW: When I wrote that ''the King has NEVER shown any signs that he is pro-American,'' then I meant not more than he (as an impartial apolitical monarch) is of other countries.
The past/present Norwegian governments OTOH is VERY pro-American, they are, after all, our most important ally.

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Three articles by Oskar Aanmoen:

King Harald and Queen Sonja officially received in China – Royal Central

King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway visit Dunhuang – Royal Central

King Harald: “I want to discuss human rights issues with China” – Royal Central

Well, he has used Google translations almost without correcting them, on what the King said, I see.

ROYAL NORWAY · #18 10-14-2018, 04:00 PM

As I wrote in post 15, the King was praised by Amnesty, yesterday, for saying that he would take up human-rights with Chinese authorities.
But when HM was confronted with a UN report, which shows that one million people from the Uighur minority are held in re-education camps, he said: ''Jeg visste ikke om dette før jeg så det i avisen, men jeg tror helt sikkert at det er tilfelle'' ("I didn't know this before I saw it in the newspaper, but I certainly think that's the case").
And this has, of course, led to some questions in the media about why the government didn't briefed the court better on this issue before the state visit started?
Well, Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide (Minister of Foreign Affairs), said this to the press today: ''Jeg tror nok ikke kongen mente det bokstavelig'' (''I don't think the king meant it literally'').
What???? - And her advisers are where?????????? Hmm, perhaps she forgot to take them with her to China??
(And no, I'm not serious, I think. - Or am I, oh, my head!)

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Anyway, here's tomorrow's royal programme, October 15th:
The King opens the Sino-Norwegian Symposium for Social Disciplines. The Queen will also be in attendance (10:30).
The King and Queen attend an outdoor roller ski event in Beijing Olympic Park (12:30).
The King and Queen attend a luncheon hosted by Mr Gou Zhongwen, Minister of Sports (Beijing, 13:30).
The King and Queen host a Sino-Norwegian friendship dinner (The Phoenix Centre, Beijing, 17:45).

Al_bina · #19 10-14-2018, 04:08 PM

One is looking forward to listening to King Harald's lectures on human rights in China.

vkrish · #20 10-14-2018, 04:33 PM

The King will be strongly advised to keep quiet and carry on. U r here for business, not on a pontifications tour. For western nations, human rights is only for lecturing. They never let that issue affect their business deals. Of course I know Norway is more vocal on these issues. But still the government of the day wouldn't want to upset the Chinese