With Lithuania recalling its last diplomats from China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged the public and businesses to support Lithuanian products, and listed ways to boost bilateral economic ties.
“Lithuania’s Charge d’ Affaires ad interim in China Audra Ciapiene returns to Vilnius for consultations,” the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In the absence of a substitute diplomat in Beijing, the Lithuanian Embassy to China will continue its operations remotely,” it added.
Photo: AFP
“Lithuania is ready to continue the dialogue with China and restore the functions of the embassy to their full extent once a mutually beneficial agreement has been reached,” the statement said.
In Taipei, the foreign ministry yesterday expressed its “highest respect” to the Lithuanian government and its diplomatic policymakers.
Taiwan will continue to stand with Vilnius, while engaging the forces and resources of international democratic partners to demonstrate the solidarity and resilience of the global democratic alliance, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing in Taipei.
The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania opened in Vilnius on Nov. 18, despite the lack of formal relations.
Lithuania’s representative office in Taiwan is expected to open next year, Ou said, citing Lithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite as saying in October.
Ou called on domestic businesses and all Taiwanese to extend their full support to Lithuania for the two sides to develop closer and mutually beneficial ties.
Asked how it would bolster economic ties with Vilnius, Ou reiterated the government’s resolve to boost cooperation on trade, investment and industry, as well as strengthening supply chain security.
To help Lithuania shift its market focus, the government on Sept. 15 held an online business matchmaking meeting, she said.
The government also sent a 66-strong trade delegation to visit Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic from Oct. 20 to 30.
The Taiwanese delegation cohosted more than 280 business-to-business meetings in Lithuania, and the two sides signed six memorandums of understanding to promote cooperation in semiconductor curricula, semiconductor development, crystal research, space and satellite technology, biomedicine and financing, Ou said.
Lithuania is also participating in Food Taipei, which is to take place at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Hall from Wednesday to Saturday next week, Ou said.
Taiwan welcomes Enterprise Lithuania’s announcement that starting next year, it would be working with e-commerce company PChome Online Inc (網路家庭), Ou added.
Taiwan and Lithuania are also stepping up bilateral exchanges in the laser industry, smart vehicles, smart cities and other areas, she said.
At the news briefing, Ou also thanked the US Congress for its continual support for Taiwan’s security, after the US Senate on Wednesday passed the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which is now awaiting US President Joe Biden’s signature.
The bill reiterates the US’ commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and “six assurances.” It also expresses support for Taiwan to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities and US soldiers to work with Taiwan, as well as inviting Taiwan to join next year’s Rim of the Pacific Exercise.
The government will continue to work closely with the US and fulfill its responsibility to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region, Ou said.
Separately, the Ministry of National Defense thanked the US Congress for promoting Taiwan-friendly legislation, ministry spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said.
Officials are observing developments to make relevant policy preparations, he added.
Additional reporting by Wu Su-wei
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS