“We understand that the election campaign is currently underway in Lithuania,” the representative office said in a comment provided to BNS on Wednesday. “The Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania would like to once once more emphasize that the name of our representative office is based on the consensus of the governments of both countries following numerous bilateral consultations.”
“Taiwan and Lithuania must look forward and continue to work together to ensure our bilateral relationship continues to develop,” it said.
This is how the Taiwan Representative responded to the position of Nauseda, who is seeking re-election, regarding the need to change the name of the representative office in a commentary to BNS.
“Positively assessing the creation of such a representative office in Lithuania in principle, in the context of stabilizing relations with China, I would see the need to change the name of the representative office,” the head of the country said in response to a question regarding Taiwan asked to all presidential candidates.
He emphasized respectful dialogue with both Taiwan and China, as well as experts’ assessment that the name of this representative office in Chinese sounds like a representation of Taiwan, not Taiwanese.
Beijing sees this as an attempt by Taiwan to act as an independent state. In other countries, similar offices operate under the name Taipei.
“The correction might be a signal for Lithuania to normalize diplomatic relations with China,” Nausėda said.
Some time ago, the President took a more moderate position and called on the government to “correct” the name of the Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania so that it would sound the same in all languages.
In turn, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, who is running for the presidency, told BNS that the name of the Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania was chosen by the Taiwanese themselves, who have a “morally justified right to do so in accordance with the principles of international law.”
“Most decision-makers have already realized that it would be both unreasonable and futile for Lithuania to force Taiwan to change the name of its representative office. During the recent foreign policy debate, presidential candidate Nauseda publicly supported this position, so if there were changes in his position changes, it is surprising and difficult to understand,” the head of government said in comments reported by BNS.
After the opening of the Taiwanese representative office, relations between Lithuania and China worsened – Beijing limited diplomatic relations with Vilnius and blocked Lithuanian exports.
“It is also important to understand the broader geopolitical picture. Initiatives to “normalize relations should come primarily from the country that lowered their level, and, by making concessions at the expense of Taiwan, try to “restore” relations with China, which is on the list of states that pose a threat to Lithuania’s national security and is helping Russia in war once morest Ukraine, we risk not only damaging the good name of Lithuania among democratic countries, including, but also losing the trust of our transatlantic partners, who strongly support Lithuania’s position,” the Prime Minister said.
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2024-05-07 17:44:50
