As part of her ongoing trip to Europe, including visits to Lithuania, Denmark and the UK, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) spoke at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday.
Her message was the need for unity among democracies in the face of geopolitical and economic uncertainties and mounting authoritarianism, and of Taiwan’s importance to global security. She also spoke of the part that Taiwan could play in shoring up global supply chain resilience by serving as a high-tech manufacturing hub within the democratic camp.
These messages are pertinent for a Europe preoccupied with geopolitical shifts, supply chain resilience and aggression from authoritarian Russia.
Tsai’s speech preceded the world premiere of the Taiwanese drama series Zero Day (零日攻擊), which depicts a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, at the summit.
The speech and premiere worked in tandem; the former promoted the importance of Taiwan, while the premiere and post-screening discussion highlighted the threat Taiwan is under from China.
Lithuania, where Tsai was on Monday, is also grappling with its relationship with China, which has declared an “unlimited friendship” with Russia. Lithuania’s relations with China are complicated by the acceleration of ties Vilnius had with Taipei during Tsai’s administration.
The previous Lithuanian administration had lost patience with Beijing and its promises of economic dividends from Vilinius’ membership of the “17+1” initiative. Then-Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Simonyte wanted to improve ties with Taiwan and benefit from technological partnerships, and did not want Beijing to be able to dictate Lithuania’s decisionmaking.
It was her administration that oversaw the 2021 opening of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius, the first European office to use “Taiwanese” rather than “Taipei” in its name.
While the improving Taiwan-Lithuania ties were hailed at the time as a diplomatic win in Taiwan, there was doubt in Lithuania about the practical wisdom of the move from China to Taiwan. This decision is being reassessed by the new administration of Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas.
While in opposition, Paluckas had expressed concerns about his country’s expanding relationship with Taiwan, and called the opening of the representative office in Vilnius “with a Taiwanese name ... a grave diplomatic mistake.”
During his election campaign, Paluckas said that, if elected, he would work to restore diplomatic relations with China.
However, the new administration was not all bad news for Taiwan, as Paluckas’ doubts led not to a reversal of improving ties with Taiwan, but an increase in the amount of caution with which they were to be pursued. Paluckas also said that Lithuania was a sovereign country, and stressed the need to normalize relations with China “without humiliation, collapse or the need to kneel to or beg anyone.”
In addition, his pick for Lithuanian minister of national defense was Dovile Sakaliene, who is not only a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, but a cofounder and cochair of the alliance. She has been blacklisted by China in retaliation for her condemnation of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and for her multiple visits to Taiwan.
Unfortunately, just as Beijing failed to produce economic benefits in the ill-fated 17+1 initiative, Lithuanian officials have yet to perceive any tangible economic results from Taiwanese investment, particularly in high-tech sectors, and patience is wearing thin.
Support from Central and Eastern European nations is important for Taiwan, as they can influence wider EU policy and are more flexible in their foreign policy than major European nations that have greater trade with China. This is why Lithuania was Tsai’s first stop.
Tsai can tout Taiwan as a key tech partner, but the government must show something tangible if it is going to convince nations like Lithuania to stay on board.
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