Lithuanian parlt speaker wants to build up larger speakers’ delegation for visit to Taiwan

VILNIUS - Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania, has said she will try to build up a larger delegation of the European Union’s parliamentary speakers for a visit to Taiwan.

“I’ve received an invitation from the speaker who has recently visited Vilnius with a delegation. I met with him, we had dinner, talked about the situation in Taiwan, about cultural and economic cooperation. I think that, given the current situation, it would make sense to pool support, to build up a larger group of parliamentary speakers of EU member states who could travel to Taiwan, to follow the suit of [US House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi,” she said in an interview with Ziniu Radijas radio station on Wednesday.

You Si-kun, speaker of Taiwan's parliament, paid a visit to Lithuania in late July.

Asked whether she intended to travel to Taiwan, Cmilyte-Nielsen said that a visit by a larger delegation of parliamentary speakers of EU member states would demonstrate stronger support for Taipei.

“I intend to discuss this issue with the parliamentary speakers of the Nordic and Baltic countries, who will visit Lithuania soon at my invitation. There will be other visits later and I will meet with parliamentary speakers of other EU countries. Therefore, I’d think that such a visit could demonstrate the maximum support for the democratic society of Taiwan as well as a very clear stance of those who love and defend democracy,” the Lithuanian parliamentary speaker added.

Qu Baihua, China's acting chargé d'affaires in Lithuania, warned in a recent interview with BNS that any visit to Taiwan by officials from Lithuania or other countries would “violate the one-China principle”.

He called on politicians to refrain from future visits to Taipei, in particular after a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for which China retaliated with sanctions against the politician and military drills around Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Deputy Transport Minister Agne Vaiciukeviciute, accompanied by a delegation of local businesspeople, is visiting Taiwan this week to discuss potential transport cooperation.

Two more deputy ministers from Lithuania have visited Taiwan this year, including Vice Minister of the Economy and Innovation Jovita Neliupsiene and Deputy Agriculture Minister Egidijus Giedraitis.

In Beijing’s view, those are political visits by executive officials, Qu Baihua said.