Two US senators on Friday introduced a resolution to support Lithuania’s efforts to bolster its ties with Taiwan as China increases pressure on the Baltic state for improving its relations with Taipei.
The resolution was proposed by US Senator Jim Risch, a Republican and a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation.
The resolution commends Lithuania for boosting its ties with Taiwan, recognizes the bold steps it has taken to highlight the malign actions of China, and encourages nations around the world to support Lithuania and confront Chinese coercion.
Photo: AP
“On July 20, 2021, the government of Lithuania announced the opening of a Taiwan Representative Office in its capital city of Vilnius. Since that courageous decision, Lithuania has faced unacceptable economic retaliation from China,” Risch said in a statement.
“This resolution sends a message that when our friends stand up to malign Chinese influence, the United States will support them. I applaud the Lithuanian government for refusing to allow its foreign policy to be dictated by outside powers, and I fully support all nations in strengthening relations with Taiwan,” he said.
The Lithuanian parliament in September passed a legal revision that paved the way for the country to open representative offices in nations with which it does not have formal diplomatic relations, such as Taiwan.
Taipei has said it would open a representative office in Vilnius bearing the word “Taiwanese” in its name, in contrast to other foreign missions in countries with which it does not have diplomatic relations.
Beijing has since placed an embargo on some Lithuanian products and recalled its ambassador from the country.
The resolution says China has blocked Taiwan from meaningfully participating in international organizations with the goal of diplomatically isolating the nation.
The resolution only needs approval from the US Senate, as it is an expression of opinion by the US Congress and is not binding on the executive branch.
It is the latest effort by Washington to support Lithuania’s improving ties with Taiwan. In August, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call with Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis described the US’ support for Vilnius’ ties with Taiwan as “ironclad.”
In September, Blinken met with Gabrielius in Washington, saying the US stands together with Lithuania against economic coercion from China.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
UNITED: The premier said Trump’s tariff comments provided a great opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together to maintain the nation’s chip advantage The government is considering ways to assist the nation’s semiconductor industry or hosting collaborative projects with the private sector after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Trump on Monday told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals “in the very near future.” “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before,” Trump said at the Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida. “They
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
TAIWAN DEFENSE: The initiative would involve integrating various systems in a fast-paced manner through the use of common software to obstruct a Chinese invasion The first tranche of the US Navy’s “Replicator” initiative aimed at obstructing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be ready by August, a US Naval Institute (USNI) News report on Tuesday said. The initiative is part of a larger defense strategy for Taiwan, and would involve launching thousands of uncrewed submarines, surface vessels and aerial vehicles around Taiwan to buy the nation and its partners time to assemble a response. The plan was first made public by the Washington Post in June last year, when it cited comments by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue
RSS