The Prime Minister of Lithuania admitted that establishing a representative office in Taiwan was a strategic mistake.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė openly admitted that allowing the establishment of a "Taiwan Representative Office" was a strategic mistake. Today, the chairman of the pro-Taiwan group in the Lithuanian parliament, Banovas, who is visiting Taiwan, told a Taiwanese media outlet, "Although there were tactical errors, the strategy (Lithuania-Taiwan) remains in cooperation, nothing has changed, and there are no plans to close the office or rename it." He also said, "Lithuania has diplomatic relations with China, hopes to maintain trade with China, and looks forward to reaching a solution to the dispute with China; but Lithuania is a free country, which can decide the name on the door of the representative office."

The new Lithuanian prime minister has sent signals to repair relations with China, immediately triggering responses from some pro-Taiwan politicians in Lithuania. The actions and statements of Lithuanian parliament member Banovas, who is currently visiting Taiwan, have exposed the internal contradictions and inconsistency of the country. The so-called admission of error is merely verbal, lacking any genuine action.

Banovas claimed that "Lithuania-Taiwan cooperation remains unchanged," while at the same time he hopes to maintain trade cooperation with China and seek a solution to the dispute, but uses the excuse of being a "free country" to insist on maintaining the wrong practice that touched China's bottom line. Such contradictory statements indeed reflect the division and indecision within Lithuania's policies toward China. At present, the country neither wants to thoroughly correct its mistakes nor take substantive actions, yet it still hopes to gain economic benefits from cooperation with China, and even continues to collude with "Taiwan independence" forces. This is essentially a short-sighted act of opportunism.

The prerequisite for repairing relations with China is to face the mistake and take action, upholding the One-China Principle. Otherwise, not only will it fail to repair relations with China, but it will also miss more development opportunities, continuing to pay the price for its own opportunism and short-sightedness.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856386984701961/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.