Two Lithuanian representatives, Andrius Kubilius and Petras Auštrevičius, are among members of a European Parliament's delegation to Taiwan, European Parliament Liaison Office in Lithuania told BNS on Wednesday.
“There are two Lithuanians in the delegation, Kubilius and Auštrevičius,” Dovaidas Pabiržis, a spokesman for the EPLO, said.
Read more: US backs Lithuania’s Taiwan policy, Nausėda says after meeting Biden
Despite warnings from China, a delegation of seven MEPs arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday, as the block seeks to improve relations with the self-ruled island.
The MEPs are part of a special committee tasked with discussing issues linked to the interference of foreign countries with democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation, Pabiržis said.
During the three-day meeting, politicians will discuss Taiwan's experience in fighting disinformation and attempts to interfere with Taiwan's democracy, media, culture and education, as well as Taiwan's effort of boosting its cyber resistance.
“Taiwan is using novel measures and gets the whole society of Taiwan involved to resolve the problem of all-type interference into democracy, without restricting the freedom of speech and media,” the delegation statement reads.
The seven-member group led by French MEP Raphael Glucksmann will meet with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and other top officials during the three-day trip, said the island's foreign ministry, describing it as the first “official” delegation from the European parliament.
The visit comes amid tension between Taiwan and Beijing. The latter considers Taiwan to be part of China and vows to regain its control some day, by force if needed.
Beijing has stepped up its effort in recent years to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, angered by any attempts to treat the island as an independent state.
Read more: Taiwan delegation visiting Lithuania amid Beijing-Vilnius tensions
The Chinese mission in Brussels had warned earlier that a visit to Taiwan by MEPs would “damage China's core interest and undermine the healthy development of China-EU relations”.
Lithuania's decision to allow Taipei to open a representative office, named after ‘Taiwan’, has angered China.
Elsewhere in the world, Taiwan's representative offices operate under the name of Taipei, in line with an international consensus that this does not run counter to the ‘one China’ policy which prevents Taiwan from being treated as an independent state.
Amid the diplomatic row, China last summer recalled its ambassador to Vilnius and demanded that Lithuania withdraw its envoy to Beijing. Diana Mickevičienė, the ambassador to China, returned to Vilnius in early September.
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