Walking on Thin Ice

By Le An

Lithuania， a country of less than 3 million people， has drawn international attention by playing the “Taiwan”card. Yet there was little time for Lithuania to indulge in the pleasures of basking in the global spotlight before the Baltic country bumped into strong countermeasures from the Chinese side.

The offender here is the Lithuanian Government， which has allowed the Taiwan authorities to set up a “representative office” in Lithuania under the name “Taiwan”despite the Chinese Governments strong opposition. This is seen as a serious breach of Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity. On August 10， the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced its decision to recall Chinas ambassador to Lithuania and demand that the Lithuanian Government recall its ambassador to China.

Prior to Lithuanias move， no country in the world has ever allowed the Taiwan authorities to open a representative office in the name of “Taiwan：” not in the U.S. or in Japan， where there are Taipei economic and cultural representative offices. In the few countries that maintain no diplomatic relationship with China but do have official exchanges with the Taiwan authorities， agencies were set up in the name of the “Republic of China.”

Both the “Taipei” and “Republic of China” references regard Taiwan as a part of China， a belief totally different from the concept of “Taiwan.” The secessionist efforts by the islands ruling Democratic Progressive Party can only meet with strong opposition from the Chinese Government and people. Lithuanias move is therefore tantamount to openly advocating “Taiwan independence，”a severe violation of its commitment to the one-China principle made when the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Then the question becomes that of why the Lithuanian Government is coming to the fore at this very moment to stage a rival show against China. This perhaps stems mainly from the current administrations “political speculation.” After declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990， Lithuania was enthusiastically approaching the West and joined NATO and the EU in 2004. Historical and realistic reasons have converged to make it anti-Russia.

Prior to Gitanas Naus？da assuming the presidency in July 2017， Lithuania had enjoyed friendly ties with China. This right-wing president， however， in order to win support from the U.S. Government， acts as a vanguard in the U.S. efforts to contain China. Upon taking office， Naus？da claimed that Chinese investments might pose a threat to Lithuanias national security.