Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu announced that the country will open a diplomatic mission in Vilnius, Lithuania. As a departure from other Taiwanese diplomatic missions in countries where it did not have official recognition, the office will be called the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania. This is the second office with “Taiwan” in the name, following the establishment of the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland last year. Due to Chinese pressure, most countries only accept names such as Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office or Taipei Mission for Taiwan’s de facto embassies and consulates.
Lithuania’s relationship with Taiwan has been gaining steam this year as its relationship with China goes downhill. In March, Lithuania announced that it will set up a trade office in Taipei. In May, Lithuania announced it would terminate its participation in China’s 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern European states. In June, Lithuania donated 20,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan as COVID-19 cases ramped up.
Ilha Formosa - Alt om Taiwan 