Although Lithuania is restoring diplomatic links with China, it would not change the name of Taiwan’s representative office in the nation, a Lithuanian lawmaker was quoted as saying.
In late 2021, Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under the name “Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania,” leading to China recalling its ambassador, expelling the Lithuanian ambassador to Beijing, and restricting the nation’s access to the Chinese market.
Since taking office, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has expressed interest in restoring diplomatic talks with China, although the name of the office remains a topic of debate.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Paluckas said that Lithuania would not sacrifice its relationship with Taiwan to resume ties with China, nor would the country issue an apology or make concessions, Lithuanian-language news Web site Delfi said.
Asked why China would be willing to resume bilateral relations without concessions, Paluckas said that normal countries maintain relations with each other, and that Lithuania could play a role in China’s larger interests in Europe.
Remigijus Motuzas, chair of the Lithuanian parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, confirmed to the outlet that China signaled a willingness to normalize diplomatic ties just days before a WTO ruling on China’s trade sanctions against Lithuania.
China’s message reportedly made clear that Lithuania must abide by the so-called “one China” principle, which Motuzas said Lithuania has not contravened, as the office is focused on trade and economic exchanges, and is not a diplomatic agency.
Lithuania rebuffed Taipei’s attempts to sign an intergovernmental agreement, as Vilnius does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country, although it would continue to cooperate on trade and economic matters, Motuzas said.
Some European countries might seek to strengthen exchanges with China in the face of US tariffs, he said.
Lithuania and China held talks about one month ago, in which both sides put forward their conditions and are awaiting a response, he added.
Talks are focused only on restoring ambassador-level diplomatic relations, and Lithuania has no intention of changing the name of the Taiwan representative office, nor of making any concessions, he said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS