Taiwan plans to represent Lithuania; China outraged by name / Article

Taiwan has announced that it will set up a mission in Lithuania. In addition, its name will include the name of Taiwan itself, rather than the capital “Taipei”, which is commonly used not to offend China. China still believes that Taiwan is part of it, so it is trying to isolate it as much as possible internationally. And this step in Lithuania has already angered China.

“The decision comes in long and intense negotiations,” said Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. In addition, it will be an exchange of representations, as Taiwan will open its office in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and Lithuania in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, in the autumn.

The Representations will promote economic, trade and other areas of cooperation.

However, the biggest surge was caused by the name of the representative office.

The name of the representative office will be “Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania”. And the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently working intensively on preparations, “said Minister Joseph Wu.

Taiwan has many representations abroad, but most of their names use the name of the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, so as not to anger China. It continues to consider the island as its territory and is doing everything in its power to block Taiwan’s efforts in the international arena, including the use of the word “Taiwan”.

Even now, China has expressed dissatisfaction and called on Lithuania to support the “one China” principle.

“China strongly opposes any kind of official contact and the establishment of so-called representations between Taiwan and countries with diplomatic ties with China. We urge Lithuania to adhere to the “one China” principle and its commitment in establishing diplomatic relations with China. We warn the Taiwanese authorities that Taiwan’s independence is a stalemate and that attempts to establish “two China” or “one China and one Taiwan” in the international arena will fail, “said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijiang.

Taiwan has been recognized as an official state by 15 countries around the world, and neither Lithuania nor the other Baltic states are among them. However, Lithuania will become one of the few in the world that has allowed to open a representative office in its territory with the name of Taiwan.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out that it is interested in developing co-operation with Taiwan in various fields, focusing on strengthening economic and cultural ties, and believes that the mission in Vilnius will promote closer contacts between Lithuanians and Taiwanese.

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