‘Lithuania mania’ sweeps Taiwan as Beijing’s spat with Vilnius sizzles
- A tiny population of Lithuanians find they are feted in Taiwan after their country allowed the island to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius last year
- Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, when asked where she would most like to visit post-pandemic, named Lithuania, describing it as ‘a very brave country’
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It does not matter that the 41-year-old boxing instructor, as well as about two dozen other Lithuanians living in Taiwan, had nothing to do with their country’s decision.
“People like to show appreciation – they treasure that somebody supports Taiwan in the face of this giant country [next door],” Sedinkinas said.
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Taiwanese supporters queue up to buy Lithuanian rum held up by mainland China
Beijing regards self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, and it balks at any international support for the island’s sovereignty.
Within Taiwan however, Lithuanians say they have been greeted with toasts, handshakes from strangers and free taxi rides.
“Feels like we are now celebrities,” Sedinkinas said. “We receive so much love.”
Other public displays of affection include a drone show in February, when a massive yellow, green and red heart – the colours of Lithuania’s flag – was formed in Kaohsiung’s night sky.
And when asked which country she would most like to visit post-pandemic, President Tsai Ing-wen did not hesitate.
“I think Lithuania is a very brave country,” she said in November. “I would like very much to go there.”
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Despite the vast distance and cultural differences, illustrator Mangirdas Riesuta said Lithuania and Taiwan shared the experience of living under the shadow of a communist superpower.
Now a tiny member of the European Union, Lithuania was the first nation to declare its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
“[Since then] we have Russia by our side, always bullying us,” the 34-year-old said.
“Lithuania sees Taiwan as a sister,” Riesuta said. “We are going to set an example that we can actually [fight back] against bullying.”
On the other hand, several Western democracies have moved to strengthen ties with the island democracy.
“They should support democracy and that’s why they should stand up for Taiwan too,” said Ausra Andriuskaite, head of the Lithuanian Community in Taiwan Association.
In a Lithuania-themed bar along Taipei’s Tamsui River, drinkers clink glasses of Voruta blackcurrant wine as the country’s national anthem blares from the speakers.
Bottles of Gira beer, Ozone vodka and Propeller dark rum – none of which would appear out of place in a Vilnius pub – line the shelves.
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Owner David Yeh said his Little-One bar – a homophone of Lithuania’s Mandarin name “Litaowan” – started getting more attention last year after Vilnius became the first EU government to donate vaccines.
“A Lithuania mania has swept among Taiwanese people who want to know about the country,” he said.
Irena Marazaite-Lin, a German-Mandarin translator, said growing interest in her homeland meant she was now getting interpreting jobs using her native language for the first time, both with a government agency and a local company mulling Lithuanian food imports.
“It’s easy for China to bully a small country like Lithuania but it won’t be so easy if all democratic countries can stand united,” she says.
