Last year, China entered into a spat with Lithuania over Vilnius allowing Taipei to open a de facto embassy using the name “Taiwan.” Beijing recalled its ambassadors from Lithuania and downgraded its diplomatic ties with the Baltic state to the “charge d’affaires” level.
In hindsight, China should realize that this move handed Lithuania on a plate to Taiwan.
China used its economic leverage as punishment. First, it tried to pressure German industry giant Continental AG to stop using Lithuanian-made components. When an EU trade commissioner said that Chinese customs were refusing to clear goods containing Lithuanian parts, China denied it was at fault, but it was too late; it had crossed the EU’s red line in adopting unfair trade measures.
China, which has been using its economic clout to bully others, underestimated Lithuania. What started as a diplomatic dispute evolved into an issue that concerns “safeguarding the European single market from attack.”
France, which has assumed the EU presidency, was keen to deploy anti-coercion trade measures. German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said that the EU would stand in solidarity against China’s threats, while the US has voiced its support for Vilnius.
China then tried to stir up antagonistic sentiment between Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte. The president had expressed his annoyance that he was not consulted on the name for the Taiwanese representative office.
To China’s grave disappointment, Nauseda was just expressing affronted feelings for the undermining of his authority on foreign relations, while Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis reiterated his support for Taiwan.
In an interview in November last year, Lithuanian Member of Parliament Matas Maldeikis, chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Relations with Taiwan, said that the dispute between Nauseda and Simonyte is routine political rivalry in a democratic country.
Beijing’s inclination to take advantage of its trading partners has deteriorated relations with major countries and blocs. The EU, the US and NATO nations’ backing of Lithuania is not just about defending an ally, it is about teaching China a lesson.
The European Parliament is to continue supporting Taiwan by voting on two foreign policy reviews next month. The Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Security and Defence Policy are said to include pro-Taiwan recommendations and are expected to pass.
Calling Taiwan by its name is not only an act of justice, but a necessity. Now that the EU is aligning with the US to rein in China, Taiwan is an indispensable ally in the anti-China coalition.
What of the name the Republic of China (ROC)? Because of China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan, it has only been able to participate in international activities under alternative names and pseudonyms.
Even though the political situation has changed, there remains a minority of Taiwanese who would like to keep the ROC name. However, if the name has not worked its magic in diplomatic affairs in the past, it would only create further confusion now.
The advocates of the ROC name can freely express their views in private, but in the realm of diplomatic affairs, the government should push for a Taiwanese agenda by using the name Taiwan.
Taiwan’s ability to use its actual name on the international stage should be a given.
Tommy Lin is director of Wu Fu Eye Clinic and president of the Formosa Republican Association.
Translated by Rita Wang
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry