'Lithuania will pay for its mistakes': China warns of consequences after opening of Taiwan office

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Friday warned Lithuania of consequences after Taiwan opened its office in the Baltic nation.

“The opening of a so-called Taiwan representative office in Lithuania is extremely egregious; it is blatant interference in China's internal affairs. Just wait and see what measures China will impose; Lithuania will pay for its own mistakes,” Zhao Lijian, spokesman of China’s Foreign Ministry, told a news conference in Beijing.

Taiwan, which China considers its breakaway province, opened its Taiwanese Representative Office, a de facto embassy, in Lithuania on Thursday.

“The blessed opening will charter a new and promising course for the bilateral relations between Taiwan and Lithuania,” Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said.

The island nation, which has been asserting its independence since 1949, said its bilateral relations with Lithuania “have huge potential for cooperation in various industries such as semi-conductor, laser, fintech, and many others.”

Meanwhile, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council urged “certain countries to adhere to the one-China principle and not to go further down the wrong path of supporting secessionist forces on Taiwan island,” according to state-run media.

In August, Beijing asked Lithuania’s ambassador to return home and recalled its ambassador from Vilnius after the European country moved ahead and decided to exchange diplomatic offices with Taiwan.