The government is closely watching the incoming center-left Lithuania coalition government and hopes cordial relations with Vilnius would continue, a senior Taiwanese diplomat said on Tuesday.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of European Affairs Director-General Eric Huang (黃鈞耀) made the remarks when asked at a weekly news briefing about Taiwan’s interactions with the Lithuania’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) and other opposition parties in the Baltic state.
The SDP won 52 out of the 141 parliamentary seats in Lithuania’s Oct. 13-27 elections, with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte’s center-right Homeland Union finishing a distant second with only 28 seats.
Photo: CNA
The SDP’s Gintautas Paluckas led the party in this year’s elections and would likely serve as prime minister at the head of a center-left coalition in the Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament.
Following the elections, Paluckas told Lithuanian media that he wished to restore full diplomatic relations with China, repairing a rift caused by the inclusion of “Taiwanese” in the name of Taiwan’s representative office in Vilnius.
An English-language Lithuanian National Radio and Television report on Thursday last week quoted Paluckas as saying that the name of the representative office, which opened in Vilnius on Nov. 18, 2021, had been a “grave diplomatic mistake.”
Taiwan’s representative offices overseas are typically named the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Office” or “Taipei Representative Office,” in keeping with the host countries’ preference to avoid any references that would imply Taiwan is a separate country from China.
China responded to the naming controversy by recalling its ambassador to Vilnius and expelling Lithuania’s ambassador to Beijing, as well as suspending direct freight rail services to the Baltic nation and severely restricting Lithuanian products’ access to the Chinese market.
During Tuesday’s news briefing, Huang congratulated Lithuania for completing its elections.
“Taiwan looks forward to working with Lithuania’s new government,” he said.
Huang, who served as Taiwan’s first representative in Vilnius until January, said the ministry has maintained cordial relations with all major Lithuanian political parties since the opening of the office.
However, he would not say if Taiwan would change the office name if asked by the new Lithuanian government to do so.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS