Taiwan desperately needs support from the world

In 2021 Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under its own name, not “Chinese Taipei”, as most de facto embassies are called. An infuriated China shut the Lithuanian embassy in Beijing, revoked its diplomatic visas and stopped trade. Lithuania’s economy suffered. But it did not change course. In November 2022 it opened a trade representative office in Taipei. Taiwan said it would invest €10m ($9.9m) in Lithuania’s chip industry. Some west Europeans complained about a lack of warning. But the Czech president, Petr Pavel, wants to meet Taiwan’s president. Joseph Wu, the foreign minister, says most people do not see Lithuania as a warning against upsetting China. “They look at Lithuania and think, ‘China shouldn’t have done that.’ ”