Taiwan and Lithuania Establish Fund Worth 240 Billion KRW

The door of the Lithuanian Embassy in Beijing, China, was firmly closed on the 15th of last month. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Taiwan has decided to establish a $200 million (240 billion KRW) fund to support Lithuania, which is facing difficulties due to conflicts with China.

According to major foreign media on the 5th (local time), Eric Huang, head of the Taiwan Representative Office in Lithuania, said at an online press conference that day, "We will establish a $200 million fund to invest in Lithuania's industry and activate trade between the two countries," adding, "The fund will be established by the Taiwan National Development Fund and supported by the Central Bank."

He continued, "We will set up the fund as soon as possible and hope to achieve concrete results within this year," and said, "The priorities will be the semiconductor, laser, and biotechnology sectors."

Eric Huang added, "Taiwan will explore ways to connect Lithuanian companies to the Taiwan supply chain," and "There is also a possibility of integrating Lithuania's laser industry with Taiwan's semiconductor industry."

Lithuania is a diplomatic partner of China, but recently it has been the most proactive among European Union (EU) member states in strengthening relations with Taiwan, playing a role like the 'vanguard against China' within Europe.

In particular, under Lithuania's approval, Taiwan opened a "Taiwan Representative Office" (not a "Taipei Representative Office") in the capital Vilnius last November, which provoked a fierce backlash from China. China downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania from ambassadorial to charg? d'affaires level and imposed unofficial economic retaliation against Lithuania.

Regarding this, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strongly condemned on the 6th during a regular briefing, saying, "The issue of Lithuania related to Taiwan is clearly right or wrong," and "Money diplomacy cannot change the trend of the collapse of Taiwan independence forces, and seeking independence by relying on foreign powers is a path to death."

Spokesperson Wang further stated, "The United States' wrong words and actions of 'one China, one Taiwan' for Lithuania and its attempt to attract a small group that allows Taiwan independence reveal the intention to check China through Taiwan," adding, "This damages the international image of the United States and will ultimately backfire on itself."

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