Chinese interference in this year’s elections in EU and NATO member Lithuania “definitely cannot be ruled out” due to Lithuanian support for Taiwan, the chief of Lithuania’s counter-intelligence said on Thursday.
China downgraded ties with Lithuania and pressured multinationals to sever links with the Baltic nation of 2.8 million people after it allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy there in late 2021.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory and has stepped up pressure on countries to downgrade or sever their relations with Taiwan, even non-official ones.
Photo: Reuters
Lithuania, like most of the world, acknowledges that China takes the position there is “one China.” It does not have full relations with Taiwan, which has official diplomatic relations with just 12 UN member countries.
The EU launched a challenge at the WTO in January 2022, accusing China of discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania. The challenge was suspended in January this year.
“I would say that the scenario of attempting to influence elections definitely cannot be ruled out,” Lithuanian State Security Department Director Darius Jauniskis said, adding that he is “mostly referring to China.”
The Lithuanian parliament government coalition pledged to support “those fighting for freedom in Taiwan” before taking office in 2020, and its Taiwanese policy was broadly supported by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
Nauseda is facing an election in May and the parliamentary elections are to be held in October.
“We detect a high interest in the elections, both presidential and parliamentary, because they are highly important to China due to our Taiwanese policy,” Jauniskis said.
The Chinese diplomatic representation in Lithuania did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China increased its spying efforts in Lithuania last year, Lithuania’s intelligence agencies said on Thursday in an annual assessment of threats.
Cyber actors “affiliated with China” have been found regularly probing Lithuanian government institutions for vulnerabilities “with the aim of penetrating their networks,” they said.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS