00:00Opening a Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania was a strategic mistake.
00:04That's the message from the country's Prime Minister, Inga Ruguniana,
00:07who made the remarks in a recent interview with the Baltic News Service.
00:11She said that while other European countries host Taiwanese offices,
00:14they use the name Taipei, which allows them to maintain diplomatic relations with China.
00:20Beijing downgraded its ties with Lithuania shortly after the decision in 2021.
00:24It also aggressively pressured the Baltic nation with a range of punitive trade measures.
00:30But Lithuania now wants to make things right with China.
00:33It's the latest European nation to seek better ties with Beijing,
00:36after Ruguniana took office last September.
00:39She set a goal to restore relations to the level maintained by other EU member states.
00:44She says doing so requires a very difficult and long path,
00:47but that Lithuania must put its own interests first.
00:50Ruguniana's comments could come at the expense of ties with Taiwan,
00:54which flourished under Lithuania's previous government.
00:58Taiwan's foreign ministry has responded,
01:00saying that the two countries are important partners.
01:02Beijing has not commented on Ruguniana's latest remarks on the Taiwanese representative office.
01:28But a Friday editorial in state media,
01:30the Global Times says an admission of a mistake is not enough.
01:34And some in the Prime Minister's government advise a more cautious approach to China.
01:39Lithuanian President Gitanas Nusieda says improved relations with Beijing carries serious risks.
01:45And members of Lithuania's parliament continue to visit Taiwan.
01:49All that could mean that the Prime Minister's goal of thawing ties with China
01:52could be more difficult than expected.
01:55Joseph Wu and Lily Lamatina in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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