From Reuters:
“Taiwan opens office in
Lithuania, brushing aside China opposition”
Taiwan opened a de facto embassy
in Lithuania on Thursday in a diplomatic breakthrough for the Chinese-claimed
island, brushing aside Beijing's strong opposition to the move. China demanded
in August that the Baltic state withdraw its ambassador to Beijing and said it
would recall China's envoy in Vilnius after Taiwan announced its office in the
city would be called the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania. Other
Taiwan offices in Europe and the United States use the name of the city Taipei,
avoiding a reference to the island itself, which China claims as its own
territory.
China has stepped up efforts to
get other countries to limit their interactions with Taiwan, or cut them off
altogether. Only 15 countries have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Beijing has also been angered by Lithuania's
decision to open its own representative office in Taiwan, though no firm date
has been set for that yet. Taiwan's foreign ministry said the opening of the
office would "charter a new and promising course" for ties between it
and Lithuania. There was huge potential for cooperation in industries including
semi-conductors, lasers and fintech, it said. "Taiwan will cherish and
promote this new friendship based on our shared values. "The dispute with
Lithuania over Taiwan has also sucked in the United States, which has offered
its support to Vilnius to withstand Chinese pressure. Many other countries
maintain de facto embassies in Taipei, including several of Lithuania's fellow
European Union member states, Britain, Australia and the United States.
^ It seems that China and its’
Communist Dictatorship is trying hard to push focus away from Covid-19 and its
other countless internal issues by this renewed push on Taiwan. I’m glad that
Lithuania isn’t falling for it and is one of the many countries to openly show
its support for an independent Taiwan. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.