A letter by 62 members of the European Parliament from 20 countries backing Taiwan-Lithuania ties is sincerely welcomed by the government and people, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sept. 4.
Initiated by Reinhard Butikofer of Germany and Petras Austrevicius of Lithuania, the letter dated the day before was addressed to the Baltic nation’s President Gitanas Nauseda, parliamentary speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.
In the letter, MEPs stated solidarity for Lithuania in the face of China’s campaign of intimidation following the EU member state’s decision last month to develop cultural and economic ties with Taiwan, as well as welcome the opening of The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania.
Actions taken against Lithuania by China include the recall of its ambassador and suspension of permits for exports, the MEPs said. The EU and its member states must stand with Lithuania, counter Beijing’s coercive diplomacy and adopt an anti-coercion instrument as soon as possible, they added.
Taiwan has a vital role to play in the global community, the MEPs said, and democratic states must resist China’s efforts to sideline it from multilateral institutions and international relations.
The MOFA said the letter follows a report and related amendments recently adopted by the EP’s Committee on Foreign Affairs in support of Taiwan. Such strong backing is deeply appreciated and augurs well for the continued development of relations between the two sides, the ministry added.
As a force for good in the world, the MOFA said, Taiwan will continue to defend freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law while working with Lithuania and other like-minded partners to strengthen mutually beneficial exchanges.
In a tweet on its official Twitter account, the MOFA said “Strength & unity are key in resisting authoritarianism! Our gratitude to @Bueti, @Petras_Petras & the cohort of like-minded @Europarl_EN members for standing shoulder to shoulder with #Lithuania & supporting the #EU member state’s decision to develop relations with #Taiwan.” (SFC-E)
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