Lithuania should call a NATO meeting over China's threat

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Article Three of NATO's charter notes that members "will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened."


China explicitly threatened Lithuania's political independence on Tuesday. As a consequence, Lithuania should call a meeting of its fellow NATO members.


Responding to Lithuania's allowing Taiwan to establish a representative office, Beijing recalled its ambassador and essentially expelled Lithuania's ambassador. The Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded that Lithuania "immediately rectify its wrong decision, take concrete measures to undo the damage, and not to move further down the wrong path." A Communist Party apparatchik told Bloomberg that if "Lithuania dares to take one more step, there will be a cutting-off of official ties. This is also a warning to other EU countries not to follow Lithuania’s suit."


Completing its orchestra of rage, Beijing deployed the editor of its Global Times propaganda outlet. Hu Xijin warned that Lithuania "will eventually pay the price for its evil deed." Hu added that "Lithuania is a crazy, tiny country full of geopolitical fears. It is extremely afraid that if one day something significant happens, it will be destroyed again."

This is an important leadership test for NATO, particularly for President Joe Biden and President Emmanuel Macron of France. Macron has resisted expanding NATO's remit to confront China's rising challenge to alliance interests. Run by Germany, now an overt Chinese puppet, the European Union will not seriously respond to this outrage. But Biden can ensure NATO takes it seriously.

The stakes are significant. This is not the first time China has targeted a smaller NATO ally. And it won't be the last time. China must understand that its coercion of one ally will result in the counterforce of other allies. If not, China will simply continue its strategy of bribery and bullying.


Xi Jinping's regime is gambling that it can bully Lithuania without consequence because Lithuania is a small nation with a small economy. But this bullying isn't just, or even primarily, about Lithuania. It's about pressuring all nations to accede to China's authoritarian diktats, or face the consequences. In essence, China is telling nations that their democratic sovereignty must come second to Xi's authoritarian ambitions.


That matters because China ultimately intends to displace the democratic international order with its own feudal authoritarianism. Democratic governments cannot accept that outcome. Lithuania should call a NATO meeting. NATO should then send China an equally clear message that its bullying will be costly.

Lithuania should call a NATO meeting over China’s threat - Washington Examiner

Article Three of NATO's charter notes that members "will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened." China explicitly threatened Lithuania's political independence on Tuesday. As a...

www.washingtonexaminer.com

 

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Lithuania considers modifying Taiwan representation name to defuse row with China​

Chinese state-run media says 'it will take much more than just renaming the office'​

By Keoni Everington, Taiwan News
2022/01/26 09:39

(CNA photo)

VILNIUS, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Lithuanian officials, seeking to defuse a row with China, are discussing whether to ask their Taiwanese counterparts to modify the Chinese translation of the name of Taiwan's de-facto embassy in Vilnius, two sources told Reuters.

The self-ruled island that China views as part of its territory has other offices in Europe and the United States but they use the name of the city Taipei, avoiding reference to the island itself.
The row erupted after the Baltic state allowed the opening of the Taiwanese Representation office in Vilnius.

China has downgraded its diplomatic relationship with Lithuania and pressed multinationals to sever ties with the country or face exclusion from its market.

That is an unusually harsh move that has dragged companies into a political dispute and placed Beijing on a collision course with the European Union.

Modifying the Chinese version of the representation name to refer to "Taiwanese people" rather than to Taiwan, was last week proposed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis to President Gitanas Nauseda as a way to reduce the tensions with China, sources said.

The change, which would bring the name in line with those used in Lithuanian and English, would need Taiwan's agreement.

The President's office refused to comment. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not reply to a request for comment.

It is not possible for any single gesture by Lithuania to change China's attitude, said Linas Kojala, who heads the Vilnius Eastern European Studies Centre think-tank.

"The government probably wants to emphasise that the office represents not Taiwan as a political entity, but the Taiwanese people with whom Lithuania wants to establish cultural, economic and other relationships," he said.

Chinese tabloid newspaper the Global Times published an article on Saturday saying that "it will take much more than just renaming the office" for Lithuania to mend its relationship with China.

"Lithuania needs to make substantial adjustments to its overall China policy, rather than completely follow the US' agenda," said the article in The Global Times, which is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.

Lithuania considers modifying Taiwan representation name to defuse row with China | Taiwan News | Jan. 26, 2022 09:39

Chinese state-run media says 'it will take much more than just renaming the office' | Jan. 26, 2022 09:39

www.taiwannews.com.tw

 

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Lithuania won’t smoothen China ties by mere name change
Beijing must straighten out case with Vilnius over dangerous spillover
By GT staff reporters
Published: Jan 26, 2022 11:33 PM

A citizen walks on the street in Siauliai, Lithuania, Nov. 6, 2021. File Photo:Xinhua

Whether Lithuania seeks to change the name of the island of Taiwan's representative office in the country, the Baltic country has long overlooked the fact that the fundamental solution of smoothening frayed ties between Beijing and Vilnius is for the latter to acknowledge its mistake and eliminate the negative impact caused by its reckless actions, said Chinese experts, after media reported Lithuania was considering modifying the representation of the island of Taiwan.

Beijing will never settle for opportunistic tricks such as a mere name change, nor Lithuanian politicians' sugar-coated words; it needs real actions, observers noted.

Reuters quoted sources as saying on Tuesday that Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis proposed to the country's president last week to modify the Chinese version of the representation name to refer to the "Taiwan people," to defuse its row with Beijing.

The change, which would bring the name in line with those used in Lithuanian and English, would need Taiwan's agreement, according to Reuters.

Taiwan authority said there has been no request to change the name. Local media also cited "sources" from Lithuania as saying that the Reuters report is not true.

It does not matter if Lithuania seeks to change the name, because it is daydreaming to think that a mere name change would soothe bilateral ties. It failed or deliberately turned a blind eye to realize the fundamental blunder it made, Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

Relations between China and Lithuania soured after the Baltic state allowed the island of Taiwan to open its so-called representative office in Lithuania in November, which China called a blatant violation of the one-China principle and international rules. China later downgraded its diplomatic relations with Lithuania to the level of chargé d'affaires.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, also said at a Wednesday press conference that "we oppose any action that damages the one-China principle. Hopefully, Lithuania can take real action to right previous wrongs."

Lithuania's action defied the one-China principle. It needs more than an "opportunistic" tactic of a name change to fix the cracks, said Cui, noting that Lithuania needs to first acknowledge its mistakes, take real action to show its sincerity, and eliminate the negative impact on international society caused by Lithuania's own bungling act.

After ties soured, Lithuania has been trying to hijack and lure the EU to take action against China. On January 14, EU foreign ministers met during an informal meeting to discuss the relationship between the EU and China. Instead, the meeting yielded a verbal support for Vilnius.

The spat has also split officials in Lithuania. President Gitanas Nauseda called the name a "mistake," while foreign ministry polling last month showed just 13 percent of Lithuanians backed the government's policy on China.

The Financial Times reported that US diplomats have also floated the idea of changing the name with Lithuanian officials. But the White House denied the report; and a spokesperson for the National Security Council even added that the US had told Lithuania that it would support its sovereign decisions.

The US has always been behind Lithuania to egg on the latter to make bad decisions, and push Lithuania to the frontline of conflicts with China, as well as losses, Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times. Observers noted that for Lithuania to realize its wrongdoing, it first needs to make decisions independent of the US.

It seems that the Lithuanian case failed to teach a lesson, and a few other countries followed suit. Some politicians in Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic also flirted with the idea of pulling closer ties with Taiwan authority.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa referred to Taiwan in an interview with Indian TV station Doordarshan last week as a "democratic country" and called Beijing's response to Lithuania's provocations "terrifying" and "ridiculous."

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said later that the Chinese side is shocked by and strongly opposes the dangerous remarks by the Slovenian leader who flagrantly challenged the one-China principle and voiced support for "Taiwan independence."

If China fails to straighten out the case with Lithuania, and make it realize its mistake, the accident will have dangerous ramifications to other countries, who believe that small gestures could be made to defuse the conflict if they cross China's red line, said experts, noting such fantasy much be nipped in the bud.

Lithuania won’t smoothen China ties by mere name change - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn