Taipei, Taiwan: Taiwan will exchange representative offices with Lithuania, said the island regulated on Tuesday, in a breakthrough because of foreign relations under constant pressure from China.
The office will try to improve economic and trade relations, along with cooperation in various other fields, the island’s foreign ministry said.
The office will bear the name Taiwan, rather than “China Taipei,” the term used in other countries so as not to offend Beijing, who claim the island as a region without the right to diplomatic recognition.
” The Taiwanese and Lithuanian governments behave together after intensive negotiations that Taiwan will soon establish a representative office in the capital city of Lithuania Vilnyus, “said Minister of Foreign Affairs Taiwan Joseph Wu.” The name of the representative office will be the ‘Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania.
‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs aggressively worked on preparations, “Wu said.
Taiwan’s first representative office abroad to bear the name Taiwan was established in Somaliland in 2020.
While Chinese pressure has reduced the formal diplomatic allies of the island to only 15, this maintains informal bonds with All major countries through the use of the De Facto embassy.
Lithuania will establish his office in Taiwan in the fall, Wu said.
“Therefore I believe that the economic exchanges and trade in Taiwan and Lithuania, cooperation in various fields, as such a friendship between all people Will be upgraded, despite their geographical distance, “said Wu.
The last time Taiwan set up a representative office in Europe was in 2003 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Along with the hunt for Taiwan’s formal diplomatic partners, China has used a diplomatic and economic Heft to prevent or shrink relationships Official between the islands and foreign countries.
On In February, Guyana canceled the permit for Taiwan to open a trade and investment office in the South American country under pressure from China.
In Beijing on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Taiwanese Cabinet Office, Zhu Fenglian, said on social media that China “urged Lithuania to adhere to the principle of one-Chinese and did not send the wrong signal to force behind the independence of Taiwan.” Zhu did not determine Chinese steps to take retaliation, but said no led by the Progressive Government of the Taiwan Democratic Party will “change the fact that Taiwan is part of China.” Taiwan has long been looking for closer relationships with the Baltic countries, citing their past experiences under authoritarian rule and embracing multipartic democracy and liberal values.