Taiwan lashes out at Beijing in global call to stand by Lithuania

Ties with Lithuania based on shared values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, Taipei’s foreign ministry asserts
Visit by head of Lithuania’s Taiwanese relations group tipped to further provoke Beijing, which has imposed a slew of sanctions over de facto embassy row

Taiwan

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 6:22pm, 24 Aug 2021

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Taiwan lashed out at “autocratic” Beijing as it sought international support for Lithuania on Tuesday, in the latest round of a diplomatic tussle prompted by the planned opening of a “Taiwanese representative office” in the Baltic state.

Lithuania in July agreed to allow Taipei to open a de facto embassy using the name “Taiwan” later this year – becoming the first country with formal ties with Beijing to do so.

An enraged Beijing then not only recalled its ambassador to Vilnius and demanded that Lithuania do the same, but also slapped the country with a series of sanctions in retaliation.

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Taiwan’s foreign ministry has strongly opposed Beijing attempts to use sanctions to try to force Lithuania to retract its decision.

“The foreign ministry is closely watching a series of complex retaliatory actions from the Chinese autocratic regime in coercing and threatening Lithuania, which includes suspension of the review of food imports [from Lithuania] and exports of key raw materials to [it], as reported by Lithuanian news media,” Tsui Ching-lin, the ministry’s deputy spokesman, said in Taipei on Tuesday.

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Tsui said other retaliatory measures by the Chinese mainland included downgrading diplomatic relations, staging military drills near Taiwan to warn both Vilnius and Taipei, and sending hackers to try to disrupt normal operations in the Baltic state.

“Taiwan and Lithuania are friendly partners sharing the values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, and, in the face of endless coercion and threats from [Beijing], Taiwan has never changed its determination to actively explore relations with Lithuania and other Baltic nations,” he said.

“We will continue to rally support from the US administration and Congress, the European Union and other like-minded countries, in backing Lithuania with full force against suppression from the autocratic regime.”

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Lithuanian agriculture, timber and food industries have recently complained about trade sanctions and obstacles imposed by Beijing, in moves described by Matas Maldeikis, chairman of the Lithuanian Parliamentary Group for Relations with Taiwan, as a warning to Vilnius and other Baltic states, according to Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency.

Maldeikis is expected to visit Taiwan later this year at the invitation of his counterpart Chiu Chih-wei, head of the self-ruled island’s parliamentary friendship group for relations with Baltic states.

The invitation – also extended to parliament speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, and foreign affairs committee chairman Zygimantas Pavilionis – is expected to once again provoke Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and vows to bring it back under its control, by force if necessary.

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Cross-strait relations have deteriorated since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was first elected president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle. Beijing has since ramped up pressure on Taiwan, including by suspending official exchanges, staging war games close to the island and poaching seven of its diplomatic allies.

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Beijing has time and again warned countries against official contact with the island, as well as against allowing Taipei to use its official title the “Republic of China” or “Taiwan” in their exchanges.

In February, it succeeded in pressuring Guyana in South America to revoke a deal for the island to open a representative office under the name “Taiwan”, a day after Taipei had announced the plan.

Lithuania’s permission has greatly irked Beijing, as the tiny Baltic state has not only defied its warning but has also received support from the United States, which has agreed to help Lithuania withstand the diplomatic onslaught from mainland China.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Taiwan slams ‘autocratic’ Beijing in Lithuania tussle