Beijing recalls its ambassador to China Lithuania And asked Vilnius to do the same, instead of European countries and Taiwan’s plan to establish mutually beneficial diplomatic offices.
In a statement on Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Lithuania of ignoring “China’s repeated statements and explanations of potential consequences” and agreeing to this move with Lithuania. Taiwan.
“This decision flagrantly violates the spirit of the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. China And Lithuania, severely damaged China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said.
Only 15 countries recognize Taiwan As a sovereign country.Lithuania has not established formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it maintains Increasingly friendly relations And Taipei.Vilnius has always been Increasingly outspoken critics China’s actions against Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong have already withdrawn from China-led multilateral organizations and announced a donation of vaccines to Taiwan.
On July 20, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Zhaoxie announced that Taiwan and Lithuania would set up representative offices to strengthen “economic and trade exchanges, cooperation in various fields, and friendship between peoples.” These offices are expected to open before the end of the year.
The announcement caused a warning from the Taiwan Affairs Office of China that Lithuania “don’t send wrong signals to the forces behind Taiwan independence.”
The establishment of the representative office coincides with the most serious tension between China and Taiwan in decades, when highly sensitive Beijing refuses to let even the mildest signs of support for Taipei unchecked.Behaviors in recent years include Display the Taiwanese flag on a cake in Fiji Triggered a minor diplomatic incident.
Beijing’s statement on Tuesday also indicated that most of its response was based on the Taipei Lithuanian office’s plan to include “Taiwan” in its name.
Taiwan has diplomatic offices in more than 70 countries around the world, but it is usually named a variant of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. The last time it established a European business in Slovakia was in 2003 when it opened a representative office in Taipei.
Beijing claims that Taiwan is a wayward province The People’s Republic of China (PRC), according to its so-called “One China Principle.” Beijing has repeatedly claimed that this principle is an international consensus and a “generally recognized norm of international relations,” but this is not accurate.
As part of the formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, many countries have their own “One China Policy”, which reflects the country’s recognition of the One China Principle. For example, the US policy officially recognizes that there is only one China, but only recognizes that Beijing considers this to include Taiwan.
Lithuania’s ambassador to China, Diana Mickevičienė (Diana Mickevičienė) told AFP that Taiwan’s planned office did not violate the “One China Policy” and pointed out Taiwan’s offices in most EU countries.
She said: “Lithuania is interested in expanding cooperation with Taiwan in many areas of mutual interest, especially promoting economic ties and cultural exchanges.”
