Taiwan Opens Representative Office in Lithuania... China Condemns as "Absurd Act"

Despite Strong Opposition and Objections in China, Installation Approved
Chinese Foreign Ministry: "We Will Correct the Wrong Decision"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Taiwanese government announced the official opening of its representative office, the 'Taiwan Representative Office,' in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Despite strong opposition from China, diplomatic friction with China is expected as the Lithuanian government approved the opening. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned it as a "ridiculous act."

According to the Associated Press, on the 18th, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release, "The Taiwan Representative Office in Lithuania has opened in Vilnius and will begin official operations from today," adding, "Eric Huang, currently head of the Taiwan mission in Latvia, will lead the office." The Lithuanian government had agreed in July to establish the office under the name Taiwan instead of "Chinese Taipei" in the capital Vilnius.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, also said in a statement, "Lithuania is seeking closer ties with Asia and the entire Indo-Pacific region," adding, "We recently opened an embassy in Australia, plan to open one in South Korea, and will establish a representative office in Taiwan in the future."

The establishment of the Taiwan Representative Office in Lithuania is interpreted as a signal that Baltic and Eastern European countries bordering Russia, which is close to China, want to improve relations with Taiwan, which is close to the United States. Earlier in May, Lithuania criticized the "17+1 cooperation framework" between China and Central and Eastern European countries as "divisive" and declared its withdrawal. Last month, a Taiwanese government delegation visited Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania, which also provoked opposition from the Chinese government.

In response to the news, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning it as an "extremely ridiculous act" and demanded that the Lithuanian government withdraw the establishment of the Taiwan Representative Office. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized, "There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory," and "We demand that Lithuania immediately correct its wrong decision."

Meanwhile, Taiwan has maintained unofficial diplomatic relations by establishing trade representative offices that function as de facto embassies with major countries worldwide since being expelled from the United Nations in 1972 and the establishment of US-China diplomatic relations in 1979. It is known that only 15 countries maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.