Taiwan opens Lithuania office because China condemns “terrible” move Politics News

Taiwan has opened a de facto embassy in Lithuania, China, in what it calls a “tremendous” movement, in a diplomatic advance for a self-governing democratic island that claims to be its territory.

Taipei announced on Thursday that he had officially opened an office in the Baltic state – the first in Europe in 18 years – in defiance of a pressure campaign in Beijing.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said that the opening of the “Taiwan Delegation Office in Lithuania” will provide “a new and promising course” for relations with each other, highlighting the great potential for cooperation, especially in technology.

“Taiwan will nurture and promote this new friendship based on our shared values,” the ministry said.

August, China he asked Lithuania has withdrawn its ambassador to Beijing and China will remember its envoy to Vilnius, Taiwan said after announcing the name of the office. Other parts of the world are commonly referred to as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices, and China confuses them with any use of the word Taiwan for fear that it would give the island a sense of legitimacy.

China responded angrily to Thursday’s opening and threatened it with unspecified consequences.

“The Lithuanian government, despite the strong inconvenience and repeated deterrence of the Chinese side, has agreed to establish a so-called‘ Taiwan Delegation Office in Lithuania ’,” Beijing said in a statement.

“The Chinese government expresses its firm protest and firmness in the face of this horrific act. The Lithuanian side will be responsible for all the consequences.”

China has gone up pressure other countries to limit cooperation with Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen was elected in 2016, and only 15 countries have formal diplomatic relations with the island.

Beijing is also outraged that Lithuania has opened its own representative office in Taiwan, although it has not set a fixed date.

Many other countries have de facto embassies in Taipei, including several member states of the European Union in Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.

The new Taiwan office will be headed by Eric Huang, Taipei’s current head of mission in Latvia.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to be a dynamizer and promoter of relations between Taiwan and Lithuania,” Huang told France-Presse.

On the importance of using the name Taiwan, he said it was “of course very significant”.

“We don’t stress the geopolitical context too much. As a representative of my country, it is about fostering a caring relationship. ”

Although the opening of the Vilnius office means that Lithuania wants to be closer to Taiwan, this does not mean that it is moving away from the European Union’s policy on China.

The use of Taipei instead of Taiwan on behalf of the delegation office, “indicates that the intention of both sides is to reflect the full relationship between the two sides, including economic aspects, research and development, culture, politics, what is possible and what is not. Lithuania not to say no, “said Al Jazeera Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, a postdoctoral researcher in Taiwan and a former political adviser to the European Parliament.

Lithuania is one of the Baltic and Central European countries that has shown a willingness to seek closer relations with Taiwan, even though China is angry.

Politicians in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also pushed for closer relations with Taiwan.

In 2019, Prague canceled its brother-city agreement with Beijing and signed an agreement with Taipei, and last year the Czech Senate leader paid a prestigious visit to Taiwan. Milos Vystrcil he angered China.

Last month a delegation of Taiwanese officials visited Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, sparking outrage in Beijing as a seven-member delegation from the European Parliament joined. historical journey Taiwanese.

In May, Lithuania announced that it would leave China’s 17 + 1 cooperation forum with Central and Eastern European states, calling it a “division”.

“We believe that the economic relations established with democratic states are more lasting and lasting, based on the rule of law, and therefore in line with Lithuania’s interests,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters. on Thursday.

Erin Hal with a report by Taipein