Many ordinary Taiwanese in Taipei have heard of Lithuania as a country firmly supporting their island. However, few have tasted Lithuanian products as import permits stall – as do other perks Vilnius was promised for enduring Beijing’s wrath.
Representative office drama
Last year, a Taiwanese representative office opened in Vilnius. Beijing criticised the name of the mission and Lithuania’s policy, downgraded the status of diplomatic relations and imposed unannounced sanctions, banned some Lithuanian politicians from entering the country, and tried to pressure international companies to cut ties with Lithuanian manufacturers.
However, the Lithuanian government has not changed its position.
“The reason why Taiwan and Lithuania were able to establish these representative office relations is because we share the same values of freedom, democracy, and the protection of human rights,” Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told journalists in Taipei. “And we also have similar history. Lithuania got rid of the Russians and Taiwan got rid of the authoritarian rules or martial law rules.”
The biggest irritant to China was, apparently, the name of the Taiwanese – rather than Taipei’s – Office in Vilnius. Beijing argued that the name violated the “one China” principle.
Vilnius says it will not budge on this issue either, while the Taiwanese thank Lithuania for giving them the opportunity to choose their own name.
“The Taiwanese people should be allowed to call themselves what they want. And if you look at the international community, the Taiwanese people are very often denied their name. For instance, for Taiwan to be able to participate in the Olympics, we need to call ourselves Chinese Taipei, which is not or the national title,” said Joseph Wu.
According to him, there are no discussions on renaming the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius.
Export permits ‘soon’
The Lithuanian assistance in the transfer of Covid-19 vaccines has been well publicised in Taiwan. At the beginning of the pandemic, Taipei sent medical masks and other supplies to Lithuania. Almost all the Taiwanese people LRT.lt reporter met on the streets of Taipei said they had heard about Lithuania, some of them about the new relations between the two countries.
“Lithuania? Yes, I have heard about you. I remember you donated vaccines, we are very grateful for that,” said Jeffrey, the owner of a shop in a night market in Taipei’s Shilin district.
However, he has not seen many Lithuanian products, which are available in some shops in Taipei: “No, I haven’t seen chocolate or beer. But I have heard about the opening of our representative office in your country.”
It is the news of the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Vilnius that seems to have reached most Taiwanese. “Lithuania, yes, I heard about this country when our representative office was opened here,” Elena, a young Taipei resident, told LRT.lt.
Her friend Cynthia also recognised Lithuania’s name when it was translated for her into Chinese: “Now I remember, I also heard about the opening of the representative office, but I didn’t buy the products. It seems that you also donated vaccines.”
After a press conference for foreign journalists in Taipei, Minister Joseph Wu also praised the Lithuanian beer and chocolate that had reached Taiwan a little earlier. However, these products are not being imported on a larger scale to the island.
According to the Lithuania’s Ministry of Economy, which manages economic relations with Taiwan and the Lithuanian representation in Taipei, in the first half of this year, exports to Taiwan amounted to 16.8 million euros (of which 13.2 million were of Lithuanian origin), and compared to the first half of last year, exports to the island grew by 29.7 percent (31.9 percent for Lithuanian products). Optical and chemical products accounted for the bulk of exports, while food and beverages totalled 2.2 million.
Meanwhile, Taiwan exports to Lithuania are worth 91.2 million euros. Compared to the first half of last year, these volumes increased by 2.1 times. Lithuania therefore expects to increase its exports to Taiwan and is currently seeking permits for the export of food products (milk, eggs, fish, etc.).
However, Lithuanian businesses have complained about the slow pace of licensing and the strict quality control of ingredients, which makes the process even longer. The Taiwanese promise that the process will soon become smoother and that the first results of the negotiations will be evident in a few months.
“We show our gratitude and sincerity to speed up the whole process. We actually wish to open the market for the beef products in the coming months. And we are also communicating with different agencies responsible for the relevant requirements,” Vincent Lin, director general of the Taiwanese Parliament’s Council of Agriculture, told LRT.lt. “We do wish to enhance the agricultural trade between Taiwan and Lithuania.”
Investments and semiconductors
The Taiwanese have also promised Lithuania impressive investment programmes: a special investment fund of USD 200 million has been created for the country, as well as a 1-billion-dollar loans fund. So far, however, these are just promises, because not a single euro of investment has reached Lithuanian businesses, just as the ambition to develop Lithuania’s semiconductor sector with the help of the Taiwanese has come to little.
Unofficially, sources say it is because of the unfulfilled promises that Lithuania is stalling to open its economic mission in Taipei, although a head has already been appointed and foreign media have quoted Taiwanese officials saying the mission is up and running.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu stressed that Taiwanese investment is the responsibility of the Capital Group, which is now “very carefully evaluating investment targets”.
“As far as I know, they have identified several and they’re reviewing very carefully and should be done fairly soon. The way that we try to be more careful does not mean that it’s not coming,” the minister said.
By developing ties with Lithuania and other countries, Taiwan hopes to build a circle of allies to help it join international organisations.
When Russia attacked Ukraine, most of the world’s democracies backed Kyiv, as did Taiwan, which is now stressing that the more countries side with Taipei, the harder it will be for Beijing to punish everyone.
The LRT.lt reporter’s visit to Taiwan on October 9-14 was financed by the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This does not affect the content of the report.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
