Vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Thursday met with two Lithuanian presidential candidates during a low-key visit to Vilnius, a Lithuanian national security expert said on Friday.
Hsiao met with Dainius Zalimas of the Freedom Party, part of the ruling block, and Giedrimas Jeglinskas of the opposition Union of Democrats “For Lithuania,” Marius Laurinaviciusin wrote on Facebook.
The meeting not only showcased Zalimas’ consistent pro-Taiwan stance, but also hinted at a potential shift in attitude toward Taipei within the opposition bloc, wrote Laurinaviciusin, a Lithuanian journalist and political commentator who also attended the meeting.
Photo: Screen grab from Marius Laurinaviciusin’s Facebook page
In addition to the talks, Hsiao visited Taiwan-friendly politicians and gave a speech about the nation’s democratic development at the Institute of International Relations and Political Sciences in Vilnius, he said.
It is regrettable that the news was neither disclosed by any local politicians nor covered by the media, he added.
“In any case, this visit was really the most important event of today in Lithuania in the field of international relations,” he said.
Laurinaviciusin also praised Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, who on Tuesday posted a photograph on X of him meeting with Hsiao.
The incoming vice president’s low-key Czech trip came after she reportedly visited the US in a personal capacity earlier this month. Both triggered anger from China.
Yesterday, Zygimantas Pavilionis, chairman of the Lithuanian Semias’ Foreign Affairs Committee, posted on X group photos of Hsiao and himself with his Estonian and Latvian counterparts — Marko Mihkelson and Rihards Kols.
Jason Worlledge, International Republican Institute resident program director of Eurasia and transatlantic strategies in Poland, posted a selfie of himself with Hsiao on X, saying it was great to have met her in Warsaw.
Hsiao first visited the Polish capital for a forum held by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation before traveling to Lithuania, a Polish academic said.
Hsiao, 52, served as Taiwan’s top representative to Washington from July 2020, before resigning from the post in November last year to be Vice President William Lai’s (賴清德) running mate in the Jan. 13 presidential race.
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