'Taiwanese' office name a tactical mistake but not wrong: Lithuanian lawmaker

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Lithuania's decision to allow Taiwan's representative office in Vilnius to use the name "Taiwanese" instead of "Taipei" was a "tactical mistake," but there was "nothing wrong" with it, Lithuanian lawmaker Ruslanas Baranovas said Friday.

On Tuesday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė told the Baltic News Service that Lithuania, as the first European country to open a Taiwanese Representative Office -- rather than using "Taipei" -- had "jumped in front of the train and lost," she said.

The move did not align with the strategies of the European Union and the United States and "no one appreciated it."

It was first reported in The Baltic Times.

During a CNA interview with a visiting delegation of eight European lawmakers in Taipei, Baranovas said that despite the strong wording, Ruginienė does not disregard what Taiwan and Lithuania have achieved over the past four years.

"Strategically we are still working together, nothing changes. She didn't say there are plans to close the office or change the name, so we are continuing this friendship," said Baranovas, a lawmaker from the ruling Social Democratic Party and a member of the Lithuanian Legislature's Taiwan friendship caucus.

While acknowledging Lithuania adheres to the "One China" principle and is seeking to restore diplomatic relations with Beijing, Baranovas emphasized that Lithuania is "a free country," saying "we did nothing wrong" and he is open to discussing the matter with his Chinese counterparts.

He cited the final sentence of a section of his party's 2024 platform on restoring diplomatic relations with China, which reads, "Therefore, the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius should continue to exist as a trade and economic office without diplomatic status."

Žygimantas Pavilionis, a former Lithuanian diplomat who is now an opposition lawmaker, noted that the office is not an embassy, making it legally no different from other institutions representing Taiwan.

"In Lithuania we allow you to choose your own name, your choice with which we agree, but it is not an embassy," he said.

Meanwhile, Aleksi Jäntti and Till Steffen, lawmakers from Finland and Germany, respectively, said that instead of overemphasizing whether the representative offices are named Taipei or Taiwan -- a distinction that will still draw scrutiny from Beijing -- what matters more is substantive cooperation.

"It's always important to keep our values and try to spread them. But still, most important is that we can act in the real world," Jäntti said, adding that "the most important thing is what really happened, not necessarily how things look."

Referring to the use of Taiwan's name as a "little step," Steffen highlighted investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and the establishment of Chinese-language institutes in Germany and across Europe, which he called "bigger steps."

"I think Beijing cannot stop the train," he said.