China sanctions Lithuanian minister for 'provocative' Taiwan trip

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Friday announced it has sanctioned a Lithuanian minister for her recent trip to Taiwan.

Beijing said the visit undertaken by Agne Vaiciukeviciute, Lithuania’s deputy minister of transport and communications, “tramples on the one-China principle, seriously interferes in China’s internal affairs, and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“In response to the egregious and provocative act of Vaiciukeviciute, China decides to adopt sanctions on Vaiciukeviciute, to suspend all forms of exchange with the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Lithuania, and to suspend exchange and cooperation with Lithuania in the field of international road transport,” read a statement by China’s Foreign Ministry.

In a tweet, Vaiciukeviciute said she held 14 meetings in five days in Taiwan, focusing on ways to bolster cooperation with Taiwanese “maritime, shipping and aviation companies.”

She met Taiwan’s Deputy Economic Affairs Minister Wen-Sheng Tseng on Thursday for talks on “cooperation in sectors with big green and smart upside like electric vehicles, especially buses,” according to Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry.

The Lithuanian minister is the second foreign official Beijing has sanctioned in the space of a week for visiting Taiwan, which it views as a “breakaway province.”

The previous one was certainly more high-profile – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who drew furious condemnation from China as she defied repeated warnings to visit the self-ruled island on Aug. 2.

Soon after she left, Beijing launched massive military exercises around Taiwan, a clear message to Taipei and the world.

China also downgraded military dialogue with the US and suspended cooperation on climate change issues, along with six other “countermeasures.”