The National Development Council has called for the production of dark ‘N’ Stormy cocktails and rum-infused French toast, steak and hot chocolate using rum purchased from Lithuania. The National Development Council also shared a graphic post of food and recipes on Facebook. Taiwanese government officials say sales of the imported rum will begin by the end of January.
China angry with Lithuania
China is angered by Lithuania’s cooperation with Taiwan. In July last year, Taiwan set up a representative office in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The company was renamed Taiwan. But for China, which does not see Taiwan as a separate country, the move was incomprehensible.
Since then, China has seen Lithuania as an enemy. Following Taiwan’s action, China has demanded the recall of Diana Mikivis, Lithuania’s ambassador to the European Union, from Beijing. Moreover, Taiwan’s move has significantly affected China’s trade relations with Lithuania. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has argued that the establishment of an office in Taiwan would seriously affect Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that this would be a serious violation of Chinese principles.
The friendship between Taiwan and Lithuania increased during the 2020 Kovid expansion. Taiwan has donated 100,000 medical face masks to Lithuania. In addition, Lithuania had promised to send 20,000 doses of the vaccine to Taiwan by June 2021. With this, the diplomatic relations between the two countries were strengthened.
Taiwan, which has shown its friendship with Lithuania by accepting the liqueur returned by China, is now set to invest $ 200 million in Lithuania. Taiwan will invest in Lithuania with money provided by the National Development Fund and the Central Bank. The country aims to make its first investment by the end of this year.
The fund invests in return for allowing Taiwan’s embassy office to open in Lithuania. According to economists, this is an indication of the growing relationship between the two countries. ‘We understand your difficulties. It’s time to dump her. We are ready to help you. ‘ – Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Ho-Jen Seng told Lithuania announcing the plan.
Taiwan V / S China
Although Taiwan is an autonomous island nation, China has consistently claimed that it is part of its territory. China seeks to assert its power in Taiwan not only in words but also in deeds.
On October 4, China’s National Day, China provoked Taiwan by flying 52 military aircraft through Taiwanese airspace. The island nation of Taiwan described the provocation as the biggest ever.
China is trying to overthrow the Taiwanese government and win over the people there. To this end, China has been using various forms of repression here for years. Chief among them is China’s move to dismantle Taiwan’s economy. In 2016, China blocked the growth of the tourism sector in Taiwan. The move comes as China suspends cross-direct communication with its main liaison office. With this, the number of tourists visiting Taiwan has dropped sharply. The number of tourists dropped from 4 million in 2015 to 2.7 million in 2019.
In addition, China has carried out a number of cyber-attacks targeting government agencies in Taiwan. Taiwan has reported an increase in these attacks in recent years. In 2020, Taiwan alleged that four Chinese groups had been trying to leak government data and personal information since 2018, and that about 6,000 official email accounts of ten Taiwanese government agencies had been hacked.
Despite this, Taiwan is not ready to kneel before the great nation of China. Taiwan claims that it is not a province of its own, but an independent country with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders. Moreover, Taiwan is ready to take on any challenges posed by China. Surprisingly, despite being a small country, Taiwan is not far behind in terms of security. About 300,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces are always patrolling the country.
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Source: Agencies | Compiled by Bhadra Chandran
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