China has condemned the opening of Taiwan’s representative office in Vilnius on Thursday as an “extremely egregious act”, saying that any move to recognise Taiwanese independence was “doomed to fail”.
“We demand that the Lithuanian side immediately correct its wrong decision,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by the Guardian.
Lithuania’s decision to allow the opening of Taiwan’s de facto embassy under the name of “Taiwan” and not “Taipei’ as elsewhere in the world has angered China, which considers it a move to recognise the island nation’s independence.
Vilnius denies the allegations, saying the office aims to build economic cooperation and will not have a diplomatic status.
Read more: Lthuanian MPs visit Taiwanese office to give a ‘friendly welcome’
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