INTERVIEW/Changing Taiwan office name will be 'enormous mistake': Ex-Lithuanian FM

Vilnius, Jan. 12 (CNA) Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said it would be an "enormous mistake" if his country's new government changed the name of Taiwan's representative office there, under pressure from China.

Landsbergis, currently on his first visit to Taiwan, is scheduled to meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and receive a government honor in recognition of his contributions to promoting closer ties between Lithuania and Taiwan.

In an interview with CNA before he departed Sunday from Lithuania, Landsbergis was asked about China's reported pressure on his country's government to change the name of the Taiwan office in Vilnius.

In response, he said that despite Beijing's repeated demands, the Lithuanian government has long been pushing back on the issue, which is Lithuania's "sovereign decision" and "a matter of principle."

It would be a huge misstep if the new Lithuanian government yielded to Beijing's demands to change current name -- the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania -- Landsbergis said.

"It would be an enormous mistake, and it would be difficult to imagine successfully fostering the relationship between Taipei and Lithuania further," he said.

Landsbergis said he fully recognizes that "it is more than just a name. It is part of [Taiwan's] identity."

The controversy arose in 2021 when the Taiwan representative office opened in Vilnius under the name the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania. Beijing immediately took issue with the inclusion of the word "Taiwanese" in the name and began pressuring Lithuania to have it changed.

Taiwan's representative offices in countries with which it does not have diplomatic ties are typically named the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office" or "Taipei Representative Office," in keeping with the host countries' preference to avoid any references that would imply Taiwan is a separate country from China.

China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory, responded to Lithuania's stance on the name issue by recalling its ambassador to Vilnius and expelling Lithuania's ambassador to Beijing. In addition, China also suspended direct freight rail services to the Baltic nation and severely restricted Lithuanian products' access to the Chinese market.

Landsbergis was the chair of the Homeland Union (Lithuanian Christian Democrats) from 2015 to 2024. He stepped down from that position in late October last year, after his party lost the parliamentary election runoff to the opposition Social Democratic Party.

The country's new prime minister, Gintautas Paluckas of the Social Democratic Party, has said he wants to restore full diplomatic relations with China, but his administration has not commented on the possible renaming of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania.

On the issue of Paluckas' stance on China, Landsbergis said Beijing was responsible for the prickly relations between the two countries.

"They decided to sanction us," he said. "I mean they decided, and they can decide differently ... I wouldn't object."

"The question is whether we are doing certain things, trying to please China," he added.

Landsbergis said, however, that he would be "really disappointed" if his country's government bends to Beijing.

Last November, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Taipei was not opposed to the new Lithuanian government restoring relations with China. Beijing-Taipei-Vilnius relations are not a "zero-sum game," he said.

"We do not oppose Lithuania's desire to normalize relations with China, and doing so does not mean the Baltic state cannot maintain its relationship with Taiwan," he said.

Lin told lawmakers during a legislative session on Nov. 7 that the name of the Taiwan office in Lithuania had been agreed upon by both governments. Bilateral discussions will be needed if either side wishes to amend the decision, he said.

Meanwhile, on the question of what inspired him to build a stronger ties with Taiwan, Landsbergis told CNA that Lithuanians have "freedom in their DNA," and that is why his country supports Belarusian opposition forces, Georgians, Ukrainians and Taiwan.

"In principle, we support freedom because we understand the value of it," he said.

Landsbergis arrived Sunday on his first visit to Taiwan and will stay until Thursday.