Lithuania Considers Renaming Taiwan Office to "Taipei"

(MENAFN) Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene indicated Wednesday that Taiwan’s representative office in Vilnius could potentially be renamed “Taipei” amid ongoing tensions with China.

“I don’t see any reasons why, for example, it could not be called the Taipei Representative Office. That would not deny our support for democratic processes,” Ruginiene told reporters, according to reports.

She emphasized that renaming the office is not a “major problem” but should be coordinated with strategic partners. “But the fact that we rushed is a fact,” she added.

Last week, Ruginiene reflected that Lithuania had “jumped in front of a train and lost” by opening the office in 2021 under the name “Taiwanese Representative Office” without consulting the EU or the US. “It was not the opening of the office, because other EU countries have done that as well. But standing out from the context, knowing that the name would cause consequences, was a hasty step that I think we could correct it,” she explained.

Her comments refer to the 2021 opening of the “Taiwanese Representative Office” in Vilnius, a move that angered Beijing, which responded by scaling back diplomatic relations with Lithuania.

In 2022, Lithuania established its own representative office in Taipei. China considers Taiwan a “breakaway province,” while Taipei maintains its independence and diplomatic ties with at least 12 countries.

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