Lithuanian Government Approval Rating Hits Lowest in 10 Years... Due to Turning Away from China

47.8% of Lithuanian Citizens Do Not Trust the Government
Lithuanian President: "Approval of Taiwan Name Usage Was a Mistake"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China's state-run Global Times reported on the 5th that Lithuania's latest public opinion poll showed the Lithuanian government's approval rating hitting its lowest point in 10 years.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The outlet added that the Lithuanian government's approval rating significantly dropped after changing the name of its Taipei Representative Office to the Taiwan Representative Office. The Lithuanian government approved the transition to the Taiwan Representative Office in November last year. Using the name of the country Taiwan instead of the capital Taipei signifies that the office's status has been elevated to that of an embassy.

China began retaliating against Lithuania, including suspending consular services, after Lithuania upgraded its relations with Taiwan.

Global Times cited a public opinion poll by Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), reporting that the percentage of respondents who answered "trust the government" fell from 21% in November last year to 17.3% in December. It also added that the response "do not trust the government" surged from 39.6% to 47.8%.

Regarding this, Global Times reported that Lithuanian President Gitanas Naus?da said in an interview with a domestic broadcaster, "It was not the establishment of the Taiwan office itself but the name that was a mistake."

He went on to say that although Lithuania and Taiwan do not have diplomatic relations, they have the freedom to open representative offices to the other side, but "it is regrettable that the office's name became a major factor affecting relations with China."

Global Times also reported that Lithuania's opposition parties criticized the ruling party's policy toward China as "unprofessional."

The outlet reported that the Lithuanian government has begun to suffer as a result of its anti-China policy, receiving criticism not only from Lithuanian companies but also from some EU allies.

In Lithuania, a parliamentary system country, the president oversees foreign policy and represents the country at European Union (EU) summits.

Chui Hongjian, director of the European Studies Institute at the China Institute of International Studies, claimed, "It is the result of the United States inciting the Lithuanian government on the Taiwan issue," and as a result, the Lithuanian government is losing trust among its own people.

Researcher Liu Zhuokui of the European Studies Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences pointed out that "the United States promised economic support to Lithuania in exchange for opposing the Taiwan issue, but actual support was minimal," emphasizing that America's lip service means nothing to the Lithuanian people.

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