The Netherlands' de facto embassy in Taiwan confirmed Thursday that it has taken down a video on its Facebook page, in which it had announced a name change from the "Netherlands Trade and Investment Office" to the "Netherlands Office Taipei."
The video was a livestream that was on Facebook and YouTube for only a couple of hours, the office said in response to CNA's questions about the issue.
The video was removed after China protested the name change, urging the Netherlands to adhere to the "one China principle," under which Taiwan is seen as part of China.
In a five-minute address in the video, Guy Wittich, head of the Netherlands office, said despite the challenging times around the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, relations and cooperation between Taiwan and the Netherlands have continued to strengthen in many areas.
"As you just heard, over the last couple of years we have expanded our activities to many new areas, and that's why we have changed, or maybe simplified, as of today, our office name into 'Netherlands Office Taipei,'" he said in a video posted on the office's Facebook page Monday night.
"By taking out the words 'trade and investment,' we have become more inclusive of all the other areas we are collaborating on. So clearly, less here is much more," he said in the pre-recorded video clip released as part of his country's national day celebrations.
The move by the Netherlands to change the name of its Taipei office followed similar decisions by Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan and Poland over the past years.