Explainer | China-Lithuania stand-off: why do Taiwan’s missions mostly use the name ‘Taipei’?

The naming of Taiwan’s de facto diplomatic missions is a sensitive issue, given Beijing’s red line on the self-ruled island under the one-China policy
No country with formal ties with Beijing has permitted the island to open offices under the title of ‘Taiwan’ – before Lithuania

Taiwan

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 10:00am, 14 Aug 2021

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China has recalled its ambassador to Lithuania in protest against the Baltic state recently allowing Taipei to open a representative office bearing the name “Taiwan”.

It has also demanded that Lithuania recall its top envoy to China, to step up pressure on Vilnius over what Beijing sees as a highly unacceptable decision regarding Taiwan.

But Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has refused to back down, saying, “as a sovereign country, Lithuania itself decides with which states or territories to develop economic and cultural relations, without violating its international obligations”.

The diplomatic spat highlights the sensitivity surrounding the de facto diplomatic missions that Taiwan has established worldwide to expand its international profile and win friends.

02:17

‘One China’ explained

How many diplomatic missions does Taiwan have?

As of August, Taiwan has 110 offices in 72 countries, according to the island’s foreign ministry. However, only 15 – many of them small island-states – have formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan’s official name that sets it apart from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

These include 14 out of 193 United Nations member states: Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines in Latin America and the Caribbean; Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu in East Asia and Pacific; and eSwatini in Africa. Taiwan also has official diplomatic ties with the Holy See, the central government of the Catholic Church in Rome.

Taipei has official embassies in these countries, while it maintains “representative offices” in the other countries as de facto embassies.

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Taipei maintained official ties with a high of 70 countries in 1969, but after the United Nations awarded the China seat to Beijing over Taipei in 1971 and the United States switched diplomatic recognition to the mainland in 1979, the island was left with 30 allies during Lee Teng-hui’s time as president between 1988 and 2000.

That number dropped to 23 when Chen Shui-bian, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was president until 2008 and went down to 22 during the term of Ma Ying-jeou, of the Kuomintang, as the island’s leader.

Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP was elected president in 2016 and refused to accept Beijing’s one-China principle. During her time in office, the number of allies has dipped steadily to just 15 as a result of a diplomatic tussle with mainland China.

02:28

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In February, Guyana in South America revoked a deal for Taiwan to open a representative office there only a day after Taipei had announced it, following a warning from Beijing.

What’s in a name?

As the diplomatic spat between mainland China and Lithuania highlights, the naming of Taiwan’s offices abroad is a sensitive issue.

There was a time when both Beijing and Taipei campaigned for recognition as the sole legitimate government of all of China.

But in 1991, Lee began to practise what he called “pragmatic diplomacy” – by not insisting that countries that recognised the island identify Taiwan as the sole legitimate government of China and end their relations with the PRC. Lee’s aim was to achieve dual recognition, but that tactic failed when Beijing cut ties with St Lucia in 2007 after it expressed hopes of maintaining ties with the PRC while recognising Taipei diplomatically.

Concerned that the number of Taipei’s official allies might drop even further over time, Lee and his successors have stepped up efforts to set up unofficial missions abroad to develop substantive ties with countries that recognise Beijing. Their hope has been to win the friendship and support of these nations as well, so that Taipei does not end up isolated in the world.

The island has 15 embassies and two consulates general stationed in its allied countries, all of which use the official title Republic of China in their names, with most also including “Taiwan” in brackets.

Somaliland, an independent region in Africa that split from Somalia in 1991, went a step further by allowing the island to set up a “Taiwan Representative Office” – avoiding the word “China” completely – when the two largely unrecognised states established informal diplomatic ties in 2020.

Since the pro-independence DPP came into power, it has promoted the use of “Taiwan” as the official title of the island, prompting Beijing to insist that countries maintaining official ties with it refrain from allowing the island to use that title for its missions.

So far, no countries with formal ties with Beijing have permitted the island to open offices under that title – until the move from Lithuania.

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China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must be brought back under mainland control, by force if necessary, has insisted that there is only one China and asked countries recognising it not to create any impression of either “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan” by allowing the island to open de facto embassies using the title of either “ROC” or “Taiwan”.

It has ramped up pressure on countries not to engage with Taiwan and avoid doing anything that would encourage separatist forces on the island to push for independence.

03:59

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As a result, most of Taiwan’s foreign missions, including those in the US, Japan, Australia and Europe, are representative offices using the name of the capital Taipei.

Amid a rise in anti-China sentiment led by the US, the opening of the Vilnius office is the latest sign that some Baltic and central European countries are seeking closer relations with Taiwan, even if that angers China.

The stand-off between China and Lithuania has raised hopes on the self-ruled island that it could win over other smaller European states as well, but analysts warn that it could come at a price, further souring cross-strait relations.