China warns Lithuania over Taiwan opening de facto embassy

Record ID: 1627632

  • Title: China warns Lithuania over Taiwan opening de facto embassy
  • Date: 20th July 2021
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JULY 20, 2021) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON ZHAO LIJIAN ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON ZHAO LIJIAN, SAYING: "China firmly opposes any official exchanges between Taiwan and countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We oppose countries that have diplomatic relations with China establishing so-called representative offices in Taiwan. We urge Lithuania to adhere to the 'one China' principle that should be abided by commitment when we established diplomatic relations. We would also warn the Taiwan authorities that Taiwan's independence is a dead end. Any attempt to create two Chinas internationally, 'one China and one Taiwan' will not succeed." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS EXTERIOR OF CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG FLYING
  • Embargoed: 3rd August 2021 10:10
  • Keywords: Beijing China Foreign ministry Lithuania Taiwan Taiwan independence Zhao Lijian
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • City: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EMN85DZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:China on Tuesday (July 20) urged Lithuania to adere to the 'one China' principle and opposed official exchanges between Taiwan and countries that have diplomatic relations with Beijing, after Taiwan said it would open a de facto embassy in the Baltic country, a move the United States strongly backed.
    Lithuania said earlier this year it plans to open its own representative office in Taiwan, a decision that also angered Beijing. The country announced last month it would donate 20,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan.
    Beijing considers the democratically-governed island to be part of 'one China', and it is the country's most sensitive territorial issue.
    Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said the new mission in Vilnius would be called the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, the first time the island's name has been used for one of its offices in Europe, as normally only "Taipei" is used.
    (Production: Wang Shubing, Joyce Zhou)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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