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Lithuania–Taiwan relations

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For relations between Lithuania and the People's Republic of China, see China–Lithuania relations.
Lithuania–Taiwan relations
Map indicating locations of Taiwan and Lithuania

Taiwan
Lithuania

The Beiyang-controlled Republic of China established diplomatic relations with Lithuania in 1921, three years after its independence from Russia, which continued until the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1940. In 1949, the People's Republic of China was established and the island of Taiwan became the main territory administered by the Republic of China, which is now commonly known as Taiwan. After Lithuania's independence in 1990, it decided to instead establish relations with the People's Republic of China although Taiwan did not recognize the Soviet annexation (PRC did not recognize the Soviet annexation either).[1]

In the absence of diplomatic relations, the two parties are focusing on trade and cultural relations. Taiwan is represented by the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania (Taiwanese referring to the Taiwanese people, not a Taiwanese state - a clear distinction in the Lithuanian language[2]). As of 2021, Lithuania is establishing a trade office in Taiwan.[3]

History

During the Interwar Period, both Lithuania and the ROC were relatively new countries, with Lithuania having declared independence in 1918 and the ROC having recently overthrown the Qing dynasty. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1921, continuing until Lithuania's annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940. Relations were de facto nonexistent during World War II and the subsequent time of the Soviet occupation, but the ROC, which shortly retreated to the island of Taiwan, a former Qing prefecture-turned-Japanese colony, did not recognize the annexation during the entire period of time; neither did PRC.[citation needed]

Following Lithuanian restoration of independence, the Republic of Lithuania decided to establish diplomatic relations with China instead of Taiwan. Lithuania and Taiwan did not have much exchange throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with Taiwan's main partner in the Baltic states being Latvia.[4] Since 2020 Lithuania-Taiwan relations have rapidly warmed, and in April 2020 200 Lithuanian politicians and public figures petitioned the President of Lithuania to support Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization. These calls were reiterated by the then-foreign minister, Linas Linkevičius, in a direct phone call with the head of the WHO.[5] On 19 June 2020, Taiwanese representative to the Baltic states Andy Chin spoke in the Seimas at the invitation of the opposition Homeland Union, inviting objection from China and marking the highest status any Taiwanese official had achieved in the Baltic states.[6]

Lithuania's Freedom Party has a clause supporting full recognition of the independence of Taiwan (ROC),[7] and in the 2020 Lithuanian parliamentary election, parties sympathetic to Taiwan such as the Homeland Union and Freedom Party entered government and formed a coalition. In 2021, the Lithuania-Taiwan Forum was established by over 50 Lithuanian political figures[8], most notably Mantas Adomėnas and Gintaras Steponavičius, and it was announced that Lithuania would open a trade office in Taiwan amidst growing discontent with China's "17 + 1" program.[9] Beijing, interpreting the Lithuanian naming of the office in Vilnius as that of "Taiwan" instead of "Taipei", in divergence from established international practice, as being violation of the 1991 Chinese-Lithuanian treaty on the establishment of diplomatic relations, China recalled their ambassador from Vilnius[10] and asked the Lithuanian ambassador in Beijing to leave.[11]

Economy

In 2019, Lithuania exported $37.8 million to Taiwan or 0.12%, and imported $97.3 million, or 0.3%. Lithuanian exports were fairly diverse, while Taiwanese exports were mainly in the tech and machinery sector.[12] As of December 2021 the extent of Lithuanian-Taiwanese trade does not merit appearance in official Taiwanese bilateral trade statistics[13].

In September 2021, Taiwan announced that Lithuania has suddenly become a top-10 destination for Taiwanese credit card spending worldwide, with 112,000 transactions spending EUR76m (roughly 2x Lithuania's annual exports to Taiwan at a time when Covid-19 travel bans were in place throughout the world and more than 8,000km separating the two); however a Lithuanian media investigation found no evidence of any Taiwanese spending in Lithuania via e-commerce or otherwise[14].

Diplomatic exchanges

Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania

In October 2021, Lithuania's parliament passed a legal revision that gave the green light to the country to open a representative office in Taiwan.[15]

Cultural

Taipei and Vilnius established sister city status on 28 May 1998.[16]

Aid

In 2021, Lithuania donated 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan. In return, Taiwanese food giant I-Mei Foods donated over 21,000 of its signature puff cookies to Lithuania.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Taiwan and Lithuania's Ties Grow Tighter". chinaobservers. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Nemaloni tiesa apie Taivaniečių atstovybės atidarymą: kuo baigėsi didvyriška mūsų diplomatijos vadovų kova". Delfi.lt. 22 November 2021.
  3. ^ "China warns Lithuania over Taiwan opening de facto embassy". 20 July 2021.
  4. ^ Andrijauskas, Konstantinas (13 January 2021). "Taiwan and Lithuania ties grow tighter". China Observers. China Observers.EU. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Lithuania calls on WHO to invite Taiwan to international assembly". lrt.lt. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Chinese ambassador incensed after Taiwan representative speaks in Lithuanian parliament". lrt.lt. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Laisvės partijos" (PDF). www.laisvespartija.lt. 2020. p. 138. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  8. ^ "BNS: Naujiena". BNS (in Lithuanian). 22 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Lithuania to open Taiwan trade office, the latest sign of discontent with China by a '17+1' member". South China Morning Post. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  10. ^ Aboudouh, Ahmed. "'More bark than bite': How China's reprimand over Taiwan falls on deaf ears in Lithuania". in.news.yahoo.com. Yahoo News. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  11. ^ Agence France-Presse. "Lithuania ambassador leaving China". www.taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Lithuania (LTU) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners – The Observatory of Economic Complexity". OEC. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Bilateral Trade". Ministry of Economic Affairs Bureau of Foreign Trade. 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Lietuvos verslas nepastebėjo taivaniečių milijonų". 15min.lt. 14 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Lithuania passes law, giving green light to open Taiwan office - Focus Taiwan". focustaiwan.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Taipei City Council-International Sister Cities". 臺北市議會 (in Chinese). 1 January 2002. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Ideas sought to distribute puff cookies from Taiwan in Lithuania". Taiwan News. Taiwan News.
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