Former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis is making his first visit to Taiwan from yesterday through Thursday, during which he would meet with President William Lai (賴清德) and receive a government honor to recognize his contributions in promoting closer ties between the two countries.
During his five-day stay in Taiwan, Landsbergis, the top Lithuanian diplomat from December 2020 until November last year, would receive the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon from Lai, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a press release.
The honor recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of the nation and can be given to Taiwanese as well as foreign nationals.
Photo: CNA
Landsbergis would also speak at National Taiwan University (NTU) on Wednesday afternoon on the topic of “Prospects for Lithuania-Taiwan Relations and the Lessons of Russia’s War on Ukraine,” according to an NTU announcement.
MOFA called Landsbergis a “staunch supporter” of Taiwan during his tenure as Lithuanian foreign minister. Under his leadership, the Baltic state donated COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan and allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under the name “Taiwanese.”
Landsbergis also published opinion pieces in international media calling on global support of Taiwan during China’s military exercises surrounding it in 2022, following the visit of then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, MOFA added.
Landsbergis was also the chair of the Homeland Union (Lithuanian Christian Democrats) from 2015 until he stepped down from the post after his party lost the parliamentary runoff election in late October to Lithuania’s opposition Social Democratic Party.
Separately, another Lithuanian delegation, led by Vilmantas Vitkauskas, vice-chancellor and the head of the National Crisis Management Center of the Chancellery of the Lithuanian government, and Vilijus Samuila, acting director of the Communication and Cultural Diplomacy Department of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, is visiting Taiwan from yesterday through Saturday.
The two officials are leading a delegation of five non-governmental organization experts specialized in foreign information manipulation and interference to conduct exchanges on counter-disinformation practices with Taiwan, MOFA said in a separate press release.
The group is the first delegation led by Lithuanian officials to visit Taiwan since the Baltic state formed a new government late last year, it added.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS