Lithuania is planning to inaugurate its trade office in Taipei in September, a Baltic newspaper quoted a Lithuanian official as saying on Friday.
The Baltic Times cited Lithuanian Vice Minister of the Economy and Innovation Jovita Neliupsiene as saying that the Lithuanian government was planning to open its trade representative office in Taipei on Sept. 12.
The trade office is likely to be at the World Trade Center near Taipei 101 in Xinyi District (信義), said a foreign diplomat posted to Taipei who is familiar with the matter.
Photo: AFP
The official spoke on condition of anonymity
The building houses more than 10 foreign representative offices, including those belonging to Italy, Slovakia and South Korea.
The Baltic Times report also said that Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) had invited Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen to visit Taiwan in September or October.
You is leading a delegation to Lithuania as part of a wider European tour. They arrived on Thursday after wrapping up a four-day visit to the Czech Republic.
Beijing on Friday voiced a “strong protest” against Lithuania for welcoming the delegation, claiming it contravenes its “one China” principle.
“China expresses its strong protest over and firm objection to this,” the Office of the Charge d’Affaires of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Lithuania said in a statement.
“China urges Lithuania ... to abide by the political commitment of the one-China principle, not to send a wrong signal to the Taiwan independence separatist forces,” it said.
Vilnius and Taipei say they are developing economic and cultural ties and do not have formal diplomatic relations.
The trade office is part of a deal signed in July last year between Taipei and Vilnius, under which both sides agreed to further their bilateral ties and open reciprocal de facto embassies in each other’s capitals.
The Baltic state has come under heavy political and economic pressure from Beijing over the naming of Taiwan’s office there, the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, which opened in Vilnius on Nov. 18 last year.
Taiwan typically names its overseas representative offices “Taipei Economic and Cultural Office” or “Taipei Representative Office,” mainly because the host countries prefer to avoid any references that would imply Taiwan is a separate country from China.
Beijing downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania last year, and Vilnius in February said China had suspended imports of its beef, dairy and beer — actions widely seen as retaliation for the opening and naming of the Taiwan office.
You had earlier said the visit was a way “to express our gratitude to Lithuania” for opening the representative office.
“We are impressed with Lithuania’s courage and support for democracy,” You told the Baltic News Service on Thursday.
The Republic of Lithuania observes international treaties and promises, but as an independent nation, it also retains the right to develop cultural and trade relations with whomever it decides to, Cmilyte-Nielsen said in response to China’s protests against You’s visit.
It is well known that Lithuania has decided to pursue deeper trade and cultural relations with Taiwan, and it would continue to foster such bilateral relations, she said.
Cmilyte-Nielsen said that meeting with foreign politicians of equal station to hers is only natural, and she was not worried that Beijing might have cause to see her meeting with You as an attempt by Lithuania to establish formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Beijing’s reaction is unsurprising, Lithuanian Seimas Deputy Speaker Radvile Morkunaite-Mikuleniene told reporters after meeting with the delegation.
Taiwan and Lithuania have stated the importance of collaboration between democratic governments, and have discussed how to deepen bilateral ties with regard to trade and culture, she said.
Tangible results would hopefully be seen soon, Morkunaite-Mikuleniene added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique