Taiwan has announced that it will open its first office in the Baltic state of Lithuania using the name ‘Taiwan’. This has drawn a rebuke from the People’s Republic of China, which sees it as an assertion of the island democracy’s distinct identity.
China claims Taiwan as an integral part of its territory. Taiwan is recognised by few countries, and must often conduct its diplomacy through offices bearing other names, typically involving a reference to Taipei, the island’s capital city.
The office will be the first in the EU to refer to Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu commented that the two small countries shared values and obliquely referred to the threat from authoritarian neighbours. “Lithuania has firmly believed in universal values such as democracy, freedom and human rights, and is a like-minded partner of Taiwan. Taiwan and Lithuania are both at the strategic front line to safeguard democratic and free regimes.”
Lithuania has backed Taiwan diplomatically in some areas, such as in the latter’s attempts to participate in the World Health Assembly. It also opened its own office in Taiwan earlier this year.
Taiwan has historically been isolated in the European Union, with its constituent states adhering to China’s ‘one China’ policy. However, concerns over China’s crackdown on Hong Kong and its human rights record, as well as its more bellicose role on the world stage, have led to a weakening of this position and greater sympathy (if not always concretely expressed) with Taiwan.