Lithuania will pay the price for making radical moves on the Taiwan question
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
On Tuesday, China decided to recall its ambassador to Lithuania. It also demanded the Lithuanian government recall its ambassador to China. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, this action must be taken because the Lithuanian government recently has announced its decision to allow the Taiwan authorities to open a “representative office” under the name of “Taiwan.“Lithuania, with a population of less than 3 million, is one of the three Baltic states. The country was once annexed into the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin on the eve of the Soviet-German War (1941-45). It regained its independence in 1990.Lithuania is the most anti-Russia country in Europe. It often waves the anti-Russia flag. Now, it is the country that has gone the furthest on the anti-China path in Europe. The strategy of this small country is to cling to the US as tightly as possible. It is a US running dog that barks most fiercely at the strategic rivals of the US in exchange for its protection.In his 2002 speech in Vilnius, former US president George W. Bush said, “Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America.” His words are displayed on a plaque at the Town Hall building of Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital. A few years ago, When I went to Lithuania for an interview, I asked a professor of international politics in Lithuania if he believed in this statement. After a moment of silence, he answered, “We have no choice but to believe in it.“Lithuania is a crazy, tiny country full of geopolitical fears. It is extremely afraid that if one day something significant happens, it will be destroyed again. And for Lithuania, the way to get rid of its fear is to do silly things over and over again, to show its “fearlessness,” and to attack whomever the US hates.Unfortunately, this is not the way to be a normal country. There is a Chinese saying that goes like this: “Good and evil will always be rewarded; it is only a matter of time.” The strategy of small countries is usually to seek a balance between large countries. Switzerland is the perfect example. Even the flames of World War II did not spread to that country. It is rare to see small countries like Lithuania that specifically seek to worsenrelations with major powers. I believe that Lithuania will eventually pay the price for its evil deed of breaking international rules.The author is the editor-in-chief with the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cm
China demands Lithuania withdraw envoy in row over Taiwan
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Move comes after Lithuania allowed Chinese-claimed Taiwan to set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius.
China has demanded that Lithuania withdraw its ambassador to Beijing after the Baltic state allowed Chinese-claimed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy there.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said it would also recall its envoy to Vilnius over the dispute.
China considers democratically ruled Taiwan to be its most sensitive territorial issue and is regularly angered by any moves that suggest the island is a separate country.
Last month, Taiwan said it was setting up a representative office in Vilnius called the Taiwanese Representative Office, marking the first time the island’s name has been used for one of its offices in Europe, as normally only “Taipei” is used.
China, which had already denounced the decision, has now gone a step further with concrete action to express its ire.
Lithuania’s move was done “in disregard of China’s repeated representations and articulation of potential consequences”, and severely undermines China’s sovereignty, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
“The Chinese Government expresses its categorical opposition to this move. China has decided to recall its ambassador to Lithuania and demanded the Lithuanian Government recall its ambassador to China,” it added.
“We urge the Lithuanian side to immediately rectify its wrong decision, take concrete measures to undo the damage, and not to move further down the wrong path.”
Lithuania said earlier this year it plans to open its own representative office in Taiwan, and has donated 20,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the island.
Only 15 countries have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but many others have de facto embassies, often termed “trade offices”, as is the case for the European Union, of which Lithuania is a member state.
China has ramped up pressure on countries not to engage with Taiwan.
In February, the South American country of Guyana revoked a deal for Taiwan to open a representative office there only a day after Taipei had announced it. Taiwan blamed Chinese “bullying” for the decision.
China recalls ambassador to Lithuania in rare countermeasure on Taiwan question; possible ‘diplomatic cut-off’ not ruled out: experts
View of Vilnius, capital of Lithuania Photo: VCG
China announced it will recall its ambassador to Lithuania and demanded that the Lithuanian government recall its ambassador to China, as a countermeasure in response to the Eastern European country’s act to allow the separatist Taiwan authorities to open a “representative office” under the name of “Taiwan” - a move which severely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and openly violates the spirit of the communiqué on the establishment of China-Lithuania diplomatic ties.Chinese experts said the latest decision by the Chinese government is a “serious” and “rarely seen” countermeasure against the vicious move of Lithuania in challenging China’s core interests and sovereignty, and the possibility of a “diplomatic relation cut-off” cannot be ruled out if the Lithuanian government fails to correct its mistakes on the Taiwan question.A spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the Lithuanian government, in disregard of China’s repeated representations and articulation of potential consequences, has announced its decision to allow Taiwan authorities to open a “representative office” under the name of “Taiwan.” This brazenly violates the spirit of the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Lithuania and severely undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, said the spokesperson.China warned Lithuania that there is only one China in the world and the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, said the spokesperson.The spokesperson noted that the one-China principle is a widely recognized norm of international relations and common consensus of the international community. It is the political foundation for China to develop bilateral relations with other countries.The Chinese government and people have unswerving determination to achieve reunification of the country. The red line of safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity shall not be crossed, according to the spokesperson.“We urge Lithuania to immediately rectify its wrong decision, take concrete measures to undo the damage, and not to move further down the wrong path. We also warn Taiwan authorities that ‘Taiwan independence’ is a dead end and any attempt at separatist activities in the international arena is doomed to fail,” said the spokesperson.In July, the island of Taiwan said that it had reached an agreement with Lithuania to open a “representative office” in the Lithuanian capital, which is in serious provocation of the Chinese mainland.Hijacked by US’ agenda to contain China, Lithuania has taken a series of moves to provoke China. In May, Lithuania, the small Baltic country with a population of less than 3 million, announced that it was quitting the “17+1” cooperation mechanism, a platform between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). In the same month, Lithuania’s parliament passed a resolution to describe China’s treatment of Uygur as “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.“Chinese experts pointed out that this small country’s strategy is to woo and follow the US and be the “loyal puppet” that barks the fiercest at the US’ strategic rivals in exchange for protection. They warned that Lithuania will eventually pay the price for its violation of international rules.Liu Zuokui, a research fellow on European studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday that recalling an ambassador is a serious setback in bilateral relations and a “rarely seen” diplomatic move, which would have a considerable impact on China-Lithuania relations.Liu warned that as long as “official exchanges” between Lithuania and the island of Taiwan are not cut off, China’s relations with Lithuania will not improve.The possibility of a “diplomatic relation cut-off” between China and Lithuania cannot be ruled out if the Lithuanian government fails to correct its mistakes, Liu said.Recalling Chinese ambassadors is rare in the history of China’s diplomacy. Due to a similar reason related to the Taiwan question, China recalled its then-ambassador to the US Li Daoyu in 1995, after Washington allowed former Taiwan regional leader Lee Teng-hui to “visit” the US.