Enlarge image
Taiwan's official representation in Vilnius, Lithuania: Opened under its own name
Photo: STRINGER / EPA
For fear of Chinese reprisals, Taiwan usually refers to its de facto embassies abroad as "Taipei Representation".
This week, however, the island republic opened an office called "Taiwan's Representative Office" for the first time.
The facility is located in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and is now causing tension with China.
Beijing then threatened Lithuania with consequences because of the diplomatic rapprochement with Taiwan.
The Beijing Foreign Ministry spoke of "gross interference in China's internal affairs" after Taiwan opened a representative office in the Baltic EU country on Thursday, as announced in July.
China will "take all necessary measures to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity," said a spokesman for the ministry: "Lithuania is responsible for all consequences resulting therefrom."
China speaks of an "extremely monstrous act"
Beijing views democratic Taiwan, which split off from the mainland in 1949, as a breakaway province rather than an independent state, and tries to isolate it internationally.
The People's Republic rejects any form of formal relations between other countries and the island republic.
After decades of pressure from Beijing, only 15 countries officially recognize Taiwan as a state.
Lithuania's decision to forge closer ties with Taiwan is a setback for China in Eastern Europe, where more and more states are turning away from Beijing in disappointment.
On the one hand, hopes for economic cooperation have not been fulfilled; on the other hand, criticism of China is growing.
Recently, other Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia had moved closer to Taipei again despite China's protests.
Shortly after the opening of "Taiwan's representative office", Beijing spoke of an "extremely monstrous act".
"There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory," the Foreign Ministry said in Beijing on Thursday.
asc / dpa