15.12.2021, 15:37
Lithuania has Recalled its Charge D'affaires in China for Consultations
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS. The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has recalled its Chargé d'Affaires ad interim in China to Vilnius for consultations. The country's diplomatic office announced this on 15 December.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that Lithuanian Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to China Audra Čepienė is returning to Vilnius for consultations. Discussions on technical aspects of the operation of the Lithuanian diplomatic mission in China and the Chinese mission in Lithuania are currently ongoing, pending China's decision to extend the accreditation of Lithuanian diplomats,"- reads a statement on the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry website.
It is noted that in the absence of a substitute diplomat in Beijing, the Lithuanian Embassy will continue its activities remotely. As before, consular services will be provided remotely, albeit to a limited extent.
"Lithuania is ready to continue the dialogue with China and restore the embassy's functions in full as soon as a mutually beneficial agreement is reached,"- the office added.
On 18 November, despite strong protests from Beijing, the mission of Taiwan was opened in Lithuania. Thus, Lithuania became the first country that allowed Taiwan to open an office with the word "Taiwan" rather than "Taipei" in its name. The fundamental difference is that, although Taiwan has de facto representative offices in other countries, the name of the offices includes the city of Taipei.
This decision of Lithuania angered China, which considered the actions of Vilnius to violate the principle of its territorial integrity as well as to interfere in its internal affairs. The Chinese authorities downgraded diplomatic relations with the Baltic state to the level of chargé d'affaires.
Official relations between the government of the People's Republic of China and its island province broke down in 1949 when the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek, who had lost the civil war against the Communist Party of China, moved to Taiwan. Contacts between the island and mainland China resumed in the late 1980s. The US openly supported the Taiwanese authorities.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that Lithuanian Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to China Audra Čepienė is returning to Vilnius for consultations. Discussions on technical aspects of the operation of the Lithuanian diplomatic mission in China and the Chinese mission in Lithuania are currently ongoing, pending China's decision to extend the accreditation of Lithuanian diplomats,"- reads a statement on the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry website.
It is noted that in the absence of a substitute diplomat in Beijing, the Lithuanian Embassy will continue its activities remotely. As before, consular services will be provided remotely, albeit to a limited extent.
"Lithuania is ready to continue the dialogue with China and restore the embassy's functions in full as soon as a mutually beneficial agreement is reached,"- the office added.
On 18 November, despite strong protests from Beijing, the mission of Taiwan was opened in Lithuania. Thus, Lithuania became the first country that allowed Taiwan to open an office with the word "Taiwan" rather than "Taipei" in its name. The fundamental difference is that, although Taiwan has de facto representative offices in other countries, the name of the offices includes the city of Taipei.
This decision of Lithuania angered China, which considered the actions of Vilnius to violate the principle of its territorial integrity as well as to interfere in its internal affairs. The Chinese authorities downgraded diplomatic relations with the Baltic state to the level of chargé d'affaires.
Official relations between the government of the People's Republic of China and its island province broke down in 1949 when the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek, who had lost the civil war against the Communist Party of China, moved to Taiwan. Contacts between the island and mainland China resumed in the late 1980s. The US openly supported the Taiwanese authorities.
Комментарии