Slovenia tries to head off row with Beijing over Taiwan office
- Companies from the Alpine nation have reportedly already been losing business in China
- Lithuania’s decision to allow a ‘Taiwan representative office’ to open angered Beijing and had prompted accusations of a de facto boycott
But a foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that if such an office was to open in Ljubljana, it would bear the name “Taipei” rather than “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese”.
“If this will be and when this will be, it will have the name of ‘Taipei’,” Natasa Kos told the South China Morning Post, reaffirming remarks made at a behind-closed-door event last week by the foreign minister.
At a session of the Slovenian foreign policy committee on Friday, Foreign Minister Anze Logar reportedly assured members on the naming issue.
“It will be named Taipei, not Taiwan,” committee chair Monika Gregorcic told Slovenian reporters after the briefing.
Prime Minister Janez Jansa sparked controversy earlier this month when he described Taiwan as a country and strongly rebuked China during an interview with an Indian broadcaster.
“They are a democratic country. It’s difficult to listen to a capital with a one-party system lecturing about democracy and peace around the world. You know, [Taiwan is] a country which is democratic and respects all international democratic standards, international law included,” Jansa told Doordarshan, an Indian public service broadcaster.