Lithuania reaffirmed via videoconference yesterday evening its intention to open a trade office in Taiwan this spring, while Taiwan reiterated pledges of US$200 million in investment funds and US$1 billion in credit loans, as the two nations work toward deepening their economic cooperation.
National Development Council (NDC) Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said that the government and businesses in Taiwan have come up with concrete details and projects to fulfill pledges they made during a delegation’s visit to the European country in October last year.
“Whichever companies from Taiwan and Lithuania are interested in investment projects or joint ventures in Lithuania can apply for the investment funds and credit loans,” Kung said.
Photo: CNA
The pledge remains valid as long as projects and ventures benefit both sides, Kung said when asked by reporters from Lithuania if there were conditions on funding approval.
Lithuania drew the ire of Beijing after allowing the opening of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius in November last year, as Beijing considers the use of the word “Taiwanese” a contravention of its “one China” principle.
Taiwan can raise the amounts of the investment fund and credit loans if necessary, Kung said.
The two sides signed six memorandums of understanding last year on cooperation in semiconductor talent, the semiconductor industry, biotechnology, and scientific research and development, among other areas.
Lithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite said that companies in her country are capable of taking part in making 28-nanometer and 40-nanometer chips, while the country’s laser industry is a global leader.
Lithuania would like to tap into the semiconductor industry, in which Taiwanese companies command a technological lead, she said.
The trade office in Taiwan is under administrative review and should be established soon, along with outposts in other parts of the world, she said.
The investment fund would be used in grooming Lithuania’s human resources and manufacturing industries, the minister said, declining to elaborate out of respect for interested corporations.
Armonaite asked for Taiwan’s help with exports because Beijing is punishing her country for its friendly interactions with Taiwan.
Exports account for 70 percent of Lithuania’s GDP, according to World Bank data.
Kung promised to lend a helping hand and said that a trade office in Taiwan would help expand the scope of cooperation.
Lithuanian said its exports to Taiwan totaled 19 million euros (US$21.54 million) in 2020, while imports from Taiwan totaled 66 million euros, less than 1 percent of its foreign trade, which indicates that there is ample room for growth.
SOLIDARITY: A group of European lawmakers condemned China’s aggressive moves, while the foreign minister of Lithuania said Taiwan ‘cannot become a second Ukraine’ A German parliamentary delegation would visit Taiwan in the first week of October, German lawmaker Holger Becker on Monday told visiting Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) at the Bundestag in Berlin. Asked by Fan whether he is worried about possible reprisals from Beijing, such as banning him and his family from entering China, Becker said he is more interested in visiting Taiwan, as “now is the time for democracies to stand together.” Fan and Lin also met with German officials to exchange views on digital education and governance. Investing in digital infrastructure and protecting equal rights to
As China waged extensive military exercises off Taiwan, a group of US defense experts in Washington was focused on their own simulation of an eventual — but for now entirely hypothetical — US-China war over the nation. The unofficial what-if game is being conducted on the fifth floor of an office building not far from the White House, and it posits a US military response to a Chinese invasion in 2026. Even though the participants bring a US perspective, they are finding that a US-Taiwan victory, if there is one, could come at a huge cost. “The results are showing that under
WRONG TIMING: The delegation’s trip has not only disappointed Taiwanese, but could send a wrong message to the global community, Tsai Ing-wen said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday left with a delegation for a trip to China, drawing fire for visiting at a time when Beijing has been conducting intensive military drills to pressure Taiwan. Before boarding, he told reporters that the delegation would be visiting Taiwanese communities and students in China, and possibly meet with Chinese officials. The Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday night said that it was not the right time for political party members to visit China, as Beijing has been conducting military exercises since Thursday last week. President Tsai Ing- wen (蔡英文), chairperson of the Democratic
‘MILITARY PLAYBOOK’: It would have taken far longer for the PLA to put together the drills had they actually been in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit, Joseph Wu said China is using military drills to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan, and its anger over US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit is just an excuse, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. Speaking in English at a news conference in Taipei, Wu accused China of “gross violations of international law.” “China has used the drills in its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” he said. “It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan.” He said the Chinese
RSS