Communist China used the biggest calibre of threat in its diplomatic arsenal on Tuesday demanding Lithuania withdraw its ambassador in Beijing and said it would recall China’s envoy to Vilnius in a row over the Taiwan a de facto embassy.

Communist China considers democratically ruled Taiwan to be its most sensitive territorial issue as part of “one China”, and is regularly angered by any moves which suggest the island is a separate country.

Taiwan announced the new mission last month, saying it would be called the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, the first time the island’s name has been used for one of its offices in Europe, as normally only “Taipei” is used.

Taiwan took part in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics under the name of “Chinese Taipei”.

Lithuania’s allowing the office to open under the name of Taiwan was done so “in disregard of China’s repeated representations and articulation of potential consequences”, and severely undermines Communist China’s sovereignty, the Beijing regime's Foreign Ministry said.

The Chinese Government expresses its categorical opposition to this move. China has decided to recall its ambassador to Lithuania and demanded the Lithuanian Government recall its ambassador to China, it added.


Lithuania will purse its own policy

Lithuania said earlier this year it planned to open its own representative office in Taiwan, and has donated 20,000 anti-Wuhan virus vaccine doses to the island.

Only 15 countries have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but many others have de facto embassies which are often termed trade offices, as is the case for the European Union, of which Lithuania is a member state.

Lithuania said Communist China’s decision was “disappointing”.

We are considering our next moves, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told Reuters.

Obviously we got the message but we stated our own message as well, that Lithuania will continue with its policy because it is not only Lithuania’s policy we are pursuing, it is also the policy of many European countries, he explained.