[What’s the story behind Taiwan’s new base in the Baltic?]
In a diplomatic coup for both countries, Taiwan and Lithuania have agreed to open representative offices, in a step towards closer ties. That comes shortly after vaccine donations to Taiwan from Slovakia and Lithuania, as well as a visit by a senior figure from another EU member state, the Czech Republic.
So why is central and eastern Europe falling for Taiwan? And why is China helpless to intervene? Staś Butler speaks to two experts on China-EU relations to take a look at the bigger picture.
Dr Ivana Karaskova is the founder and leader of MapInfluenCE, a project focusing on both China and Russia’s influence in Central Europe. Dr Karaskova also leads the multinational consortium China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE). She is also a China analyst at the Association for International Affairs, a lecturer at Charles University, and a European China Policy Fellow at the Mercator Institute for China Studies.
Dr Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy is a Ph.D. research fellow at the European Union Centre in Taiwan at National Taiwan University, Taipei, and the author of “Europe, China, and the Limits of Normative Power”. Dr Ferenczy is also an affiliated scholar at the Political Science Department at Vrije Universiteit Brussel; head of the associate network at 9dashline; a non-resident fellow at Taiwan NextGen Foundation; and a former political advisor in the European Parliament (2008-2020).
Tomas Žeimys - DJI Spark drone footage | Vilnius, Lithuania, modified, CC BY 4.0 2018, URL: [ Ссылка ]
#Taiwan #Lithuania #Lietuva
Watch the full episode of Taiwan Insider here: [ Ссылка ]
CONNECT
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
YouTube: [ Ссылка ]
Website: [ Ссылка ]
Email: rti@rti.org.tw
