Taiwan is to establish a “Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania,” the first office in Europe to be called Taiwanese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday.
“It is an important diplomatic breakthrough,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) wrote on Facebook, thanking diplomatic personnel for the significant achievement.
To expand the nation’s relations with central and eastern Europe, especially with Baltic nations, the government decided to establish the office in Vilnius, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told an online news conference.
Photo: Reuters
The plan signals progress in Taiwan-Europe relations, as it has been 18 years since the nation last opened an office on the continent, the Taipei Representative Office in Bratislava, Slovakia, Wu said.
Taiwan and Lithuania are both situated on the front lines of defending democracy and freedom, he said.
A member of the EU and NATO, Lithuania is known for its strength in lasers, biotechnology, satellites and information technology, as well as agriculture and furniture, Wu said.
When the Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland opened last year, it was the first to use the name “Taiwan,” he said.
The planned office in Vilnius would be the first in Europe that is called “Taiwanese,” a nomenclature similar to the names of the British Office Taipei, the French Office in Taipei, the German Institute Taipei and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), he added.
The nation’s representative offices in countries without formal relations mostly use the word “Taipei,” such as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US. Embassies in nations with formal ties use “Republic of China.”
The ministry is seeking a suitable location for the planned office, Wu said when asked about the inauguration date.
“Freedom-loving people should look out for each other,” he said, quoting Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis, who on June 22 confirmed that his government planned to donate 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan.
Lithuania plans to establish a trade office in Taiwan by the end of this year.
Following the news conference, the AIT issued a statement backing the plan to establish the office in Lithuania.
“All countries should be free to pursue closer ties and greater cooperation with Taiwan, a leading democracy, a major economy, and a force for good in the world,” the AIT said. “The United States remains committed to supporting Taiwan in a manner consistent with the US ‘one China’ policy as Taiwan strengthens its international partnerships and works to address global challenges, including COVID-19, investment screening, and supply chain resilience.”
The Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia is currently responsible for promoting relations with Baltic nations, including Lithuania and Estonia.
A video released by the mission yesterday showed Representative to Latvia Eric Huang (黃鈞耀) meeting Matas Maldeikis, chairman of the Lithuanian Parliamentary Group for Relations with Taiwan, in front of Vilnius Cathedral, making a toast with Taiwanese bubble tea purchased at a local shop.
Taiwan and Lithuania share many parallels in history and geopolitics, and the office’s establishment would open a new chapter of bilateral economic cooperation and send a clear message that democracies must cooperate in the current geopolitical turbulence, Maldeikis said in the video.
Taiwan maintains formal diplomatic relations with 15 allies, with the Vatican being the only one in Europe.
Since taking office in May 2016, Tsai’s administration has lost seven diplomatic allies.
Taiwan last year opened the office in Somaliland and the Taipei Representative Office in France’s new branch in Aix-en-Provence. It also resumed operations at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam after a hiatus of three years.
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
RSS