Lithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite hopes to open a trade office in Taiwan this year, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported yesterday.
Armonaite said that opening representative offices in new markets is part of her mission as minister, because Lithuania is an export-driven economy, Deutsche Welle reported.
A shortage of microchips in Lithuania and other European countries is another reason for the need to establish a closer trade relationship with Taiwan, a key manufacturer of semiconductors, the report said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Establishing a trade office in Taiwan — which she hoped would happen in October or November — is not solely about trade, it also reflects the friendship that Taiwan and Lithuania established in the early 1990s, the report said.
Taiwan supported Lithuania and other Baltic states in their transition to liberal democracies and market economies, the report cited her as saying, adding that she thanked Taiwan for donating 100,000 masks to Lithuania at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On issues relating to China, Armonaite told Deutsche Welle that it is important to pay attention to what is happening in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and other places.
“Some of the news that reaches us doesn’t go in line with human rights approaches,” she said. “This is something we can’t ignore and that’s why we are trying to build more economic relations with a diverse range of countries and regions.”
The proposal to open a trade office in Taiwan was reported by Lithuanian media in March.
Lithuanian media reports have said recently that its parliament is amending laws to allow the establishment of trade missions in countries with which Lithuania has no diplomatic ties.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that the ministry welcomes Lithuania’s intention to expand cooperation with Taiwan, including its plan to set up a trade office in Taiwan and to amend laws to pave the way for that to happen.
Ou thanked Lithuania for its pledge on June 22 to donate 20,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS