Lithuanian lawmakers have invited top Taiwanese officials to join other countries at a forum to mark Lithuania’s centennial diplomatic relations with the US.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) yesterday congratulated Lithuania and expressed gratitude for the invitation, adding that Taiwan, the US and Lithuania are like-minded partners that defend each other’s democracy and freedom.
Lithuania has been bolstering substantive relations with Taiwan since last year, while the US and other democratic allies worldwide condemned China’s diplomatic and economic sanctions on Lithuania, he said.
Photo: Reuters
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) and Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), along with Democratic Progressive Party legislators Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) and Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) — both of whom are touring Europe — have been invited by the Lithuanian parliament to attend the forum, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The forum, to be held on Thursday, has “freedom” as its theme, and can be attended in person or virtually.
The ministry said that Lithuania has been safeguarding freedom, democracy and human rights since it was under occupation through to its independence.
Lithuania hopes to deepen ties with the US and other countries during the forum as part of its effort to resist authoritarian regimes, Lithuanian lawmaker Zygimantas Pavilionis said.
Representatives from Belarus, Ukraine, the UK, France, the US, Canada and Taiwan are scheduled to attend the forum, indicating that many countries consider Lithuania a reliable European partner, he said.
“The world has finally heard us,” he said.
Lithuania has faced political and economic pressure from Beijing over its decision to allow the use of the word “Taiwanese” in the name of Taiwan’s representative office in the Baltic state.
The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was established on Nov. 18 last year, breaking a trend of using “Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” in the names of its overseas missions.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
Taiwan has recorded its first fatal case of Coxsackie B5 enterovirus in 10 years after a one-year-old boy from southern Taiwan died from complications early last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) told a news conference that the child initially developed a fever and respiratory symptoms before experiencing seizures and loss of consciousness. The boy was diagnosed with acute encephalitis and admitted to intensive care, but his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away on the sixth day of illness, Lo said. This also marks Taiwan’s third enterovirus-related death this year and the first severe
RSS