China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoF) said it had recalled the Chinese ambassador in Lithuania and demanded the latter to do the same on August 10.
The move, according to the MoF, is in response to Lithuania allowing Taiwan to set up a representative office there despite the Chinese mainland’s objections.
The MoF said Lithuania has violated the one-China principle, a widely acknowledged rule for international relations and severely impaired China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minster Gabrielius Landsbergis responded at a public event on August 11 that there is misunderstanding between China and Lithuania and that he does not think agreeing that Taiwan can set up a representative office goes against the one-China principle which China has emphasized as the “political basis for China to establish diplomatic relationship with other countries.” He said that Lithuania will take any necessary measures to persuade the Chinese ambassador to return.
Landsbergis received support from the US and the EU, while the Chinese MoF accused them of distorting the one-China principle, saying that the principle demands to cut off any official exchange with Chinese Taiwan.
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