The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania[1] (Chinese: 駐立陶宛台灣代表處; Lithuanian: Taivano atstovybė Lietuvoje) is the representative office of Taiwan responsible for the development of relations with Lithuania. As Lithuania has not established official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the mission does not have diplomatic status but can be considered as a de facto embassy.[2] It is Taiwan's first and only representative office with "Taiwan" instead of "Taipei" in its title in a European country without official relations with Taiwan, and the first such office in the world that uses the adjective "Taiwanese".
| Chinese: 駐立陶宛台灣代表處 Lithuanian: Taivano atstovybė Lietuvoje | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 18 November 2021 |
| Jurisdiction |  Lithuania |
| Headquarters | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | www.roc-taiwan.org/lt |
History
editCloser relations between Lithuania and Taiwan began to develop more actively after 2020 at the end of the Seimas elections. The agreement of the ruling coalition set out to increase support for Taiwan.[3] Gabrielius Landsbergis, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs announced discussions on the Lithuanian business representative office in Taiwan, and a few months later on plans to open a Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania.[4] In response to plans in opening the office, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhu Fenglian issued a statement urging Lithuania to strictly abide by the one-China principle and to "not send the wrong signal to Taiwanese independence forces."[5]
Following its opening, the People's Republic of China (PRC), which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, has imposed a series of sanctions on Lithuania in retaliation.[6]
Present
editEric Huang, former head of Taiwan's representative office in Lithuania, announced that Taiwan will create an investment of 200 million USD fund, which will be used for investments in the Lithuanian industry. And the country has already announced that it has taken over or promises to take over 120 sea containers with Lithuanian goods that China did not allow to enter mainland China.[7]
Starting January 15, 2024, Constance H. Wang is the new head of Taiwan's representative office in Lithuania.
In May 2024, due to the ongoing souring of diplomatic relations between China and Lithuania following the opening of the office, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda stated in an interview that while he welcomed the establishment of the office, but in the context of normalization of relations with China, there would be a need to change its name. In response to Nausėda's comments, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan Joseph Wu stated that the office's name that was agreed on in 2021 by the Governments of Lithuania and Taiwan, after negotiations and signing of documents. He also further stated that Taiwan had not received any official request for name change and would not accept it even if such request was received.[8]
Heads
editHeads of the Taiwanese Representative office in Vilnius:
- Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), November 18, 2021 - January 14, 2024
- Constance H. Wang (王雪虹), since January 15, 2024.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Taiwan representation opens in Vilnius". lrt.lt. November 18, 2021.
- ^ "Taiwan to open de-facto embassy in Lithuania under own name". euronews. July 20, 2021.
- ^ Beniušis, Vaidotas (2021-08-30). "Vaidotas Beniušis: Kaip Lietuva tapo Kinijos taikiniu". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian).
- ^ "Dar vienas niuksas Kinijai: Taivanas steigia atstovybę Lietuvoje". 15min.lt (in Lithuanian). 2021-07-20.
- ^ Wang, Amber (2021-07-20). "Taiwan will use its own name for Lithuania office". Asia Times. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "'Taiwanese' office in Lithuania opens". Taiwan News. November 18, 2021.
- ^ "Taiwan to invest $200m in Lithuania to offset Beijing's sanctions". lrt.lt. January 5, 2022.
- ^ Yeh, Joseph (2024-05-09). "Taiwan stands firm on name of representative office in Lithuania". Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
