Lithuania has to change the name of the Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius in all languages if it wants to normalise its relations with Beijing, Qu Baihua, China’s acting chargé d’affaires in Lithuania, has said.
According to Baihua, the Taiwanese office in Vilnius could use the name of Taipei, as is done elsewhere in the world.
“If your government really wants to ease the tension, the first step is to change the name in all languages from ‘Taiwanese’ back to ‘Taipei’. That’s the first and very important thing,” he said in an interview with BNS.
Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of China’s territory. In Baihua’s words, the use of the island’s name creates the impression of Taiwan being separate from China.
Last week, you met with Lithuanian MP Giedrius Surplys. After the meeting, he said that according to you, changing the name of the Taiwanese representative office could solve the problem between China and Lithuania. Could you elaborate?
When you ask about the meeting, we did invite him – it’s normal for diplomats. […] Our purpose is to promote bilateral relations, so we need to get feedback from all sides of society.
Read more: Lithuanian officials criticise opposition MP after meeting with Chinese diplomat
To answer your question, nothing is more important than the Taiwan issue. We noticed that some politicians say that it’s not about the Taiwan issue […], but the Taiwan issue is of China’s core interest – it concerns Chinese national sovereignty and state security.
That’s why we have been asking the government to handle the Taiwan issue properly.
How should Lithuania deal with that issue?
The naming of the office has been the key issue since last July when your government welcomed the establishment of the Taiwanese representative office. [...] We firmly oppose this kind of office, especially under the name of Taiwan.
Could you elaborate on why you oppose Taiwan's name for the office?
Using “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese” in the name has sovereignty implications. Also, that’s what Taiwan authorities call a successful breakthrough in its diplomatic efforts over so many decades.
No other country that has diplomatic relations with China has ever allowed Taiwan to open its office under the name of “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese”. They are all named after Taipei. We have made it very clear to your foreign ministry […].
That is why we say that Lithuania has set a bad precedent in the world. It creates a false impression to the public of one China, one Taiwan.
The Foreign Ministry argued that there are Taiwan offices under its name. For example, the Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris. So, why does the opening of the representative office in Vilnius make any difference?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs came with three or four examples of organisations with Taiwan’s name. But those offices are not representative offices at all. The office in Lithuania represents Taipei, a cultural centre only represents culture.
Do you believe that offices like the one in Lithuania are de facto embassies?
Yes. It’s like a diplomatic representation. We could agree that you have non-governmental relations with Taiwan businesses, Taiwan people, but definitely not with its officials. When we tell you to properly handle the Taiwan issue, we mean you should not have direct official contact.
Are you only concerned about the representative office’s name in the Chinese language?
No. It doesn't work by simply changing the name in Chinese. We don’t accept that [...].
If your government really wants to ease the tension, the first step is to change the name in all languages from “Taiwanese” back to “Taipei”. That’s the first and very important thing.
Our position has been very clear and consistent since last July – no “Taiwanese” in the name.
What are the other steps?
The other steps – you need to abide by the one China policy. That means you should not have official relations with Taipei.
What has Lithuania done in violation of the one China policy, according to you?
Your government officials are visiting Taiwan, they meet with Taiwan’s representatives, or invite Taiwan’s foreign minister to speak in various formats – you received the head of the Taiwan delegation last November.
Lithuania says the delegation was received by Lithuanian enterprises, but actually, it was the Ministry of Economy and Innovation. Everybody knows that. Also, […] you signed some memorandums, and that constitutes the official nature of links with Taiwan.
The Foreign Ministry said a couple of weeks ago that it was in contact with China to de-escalate the situation. Can you describe those contacts?
What time frame are you talking about?
One to two months. I'll put my question differently – when was the last time you met any Foreign Ministry official?
It could have been some time in December. Since then, we have not had any meetings. We only saw there were a lot of debates about changing the name of the Taiwanese representative office, and some disagreements between the president and the government.
The president asked for a de-escalation plan, but nobody came to us. If you really want to de-escalate, you need to have better relations with China and the Chinese people. We are here to talk.
In all meetings in November and December, we also said very explicitly that the door for negotiations between China and Lithuania was open […].
But negotiations usually mean that both sides need to compromise. What would China promise to do if Lithuania took the steps you expect?
If Lithuania really takes action to make corrections, and we work together for the normalisation of bilateral relations, the relations will go back to normal, all exchanges will be resumed, including trade, business, culture, high-level official visits, and consultations.
These are normal channels, normal activities of two countries. [...] The Taiwan issue has downgraded relations between the two countries to the charge d’affaires level. That also means we have restricted our activities to the minimum.
But China’s government has publicly denied that it had anything to do with the trade disruptions that are taking place, and now you say that changing the name of the office and making other steps would return the situation back to normal.
The situation is not normal, right? The level of diplomatic representation is downgraded. We also noticed the complaints from your business sectors that you have problems with imports and exports from China. That is not normal either, right? Interests of both countries’ people are being hurt because of that.
But China is saying that the trade disruptions that are taking place are not related to the official position of Beijing...
No, they are not. In China, we follow the rules. [...] Some say that China has some unofficial economic sanctions against Lithuania. No, no.
But on the other hand, you are saying that the Chinese government can somehow improve the situation if the Lithuanian and Chinese bilateral ties come to normal. How is that?
No question. […] When relations between countries become so difficult, it cannot go unnoticed […].
Normally, for the business partners who have business relations with Lithuanian companies, they themselves feel it is not good to do business with Lithuania anymore. If Lithuania is not trustworthy, it’s not good for China’s businesses to continue.
The US, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Japan have decided to join consultations at the World Trade Organization between China and the EU regarding Beijing’s actions against Lithuania…
I don't have any good knowledge about that […]. We don’t have any objections to negotiations, since China follows the rules.
We didn’t do those kinds of things your government accused us of doing. Also, we don’t believe that this is a good way to solve the relations between Lithuania and China. The existing issue is a political one – it is about Taiwan – not economic.
Read more: Taiwan, Canada, Japan to join EU’s WTO case over China‘s sanctions on Lithuania
Do you sincerely believe the conflict could be solved?
Of course. When we have some disagreements, it is just for the time being. We are looking into [our] long history […]. China and Lithuania do not have any fundamental disagreements.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
