TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Friday (Jan 21) expressed gratitude for the passing of a resolution by the Czech Senate's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security, calling on the Czech government and European Union (EU) to pay close attention to China’s economic coercion of Lithuania.
The resolution, which passed on Jan. 19, was introduced by Pavel Fischer, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security. It urged the Czech government to consider the pressure Lithuania faces from Chinese and multinational investors when negotiating with the EU on how to formulate a common security and defense policy, according to a MOFA press release.
It also called on the European Commission and the Council of the EU to stick to their responsibilities and roles by taking proper measures to respond to similar cases.
“The passing of this resolution once again demonstrates the importance of democracies uniting in solidarity with Lithuania and jointly resisting undue political pressure,” MOFA said. The Czech Republic is one of Taiwan’s like-minded partners, and the two sides are actively developing a comprehensive cooperative partnership, it added.
MOFA mentioned that Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, Minister of Science, Research and Innovation Helena Langšádlová, and other Czech officials have publicly supported Taiwan's international participation and the deepening of Taiwan-Lithuania ties.
“MOFA is pleased to see that democratic partners continue to support Lithuania with practical actions,” it said, adding that Taiwan will continue to deepen cooperation with like-minded partners to deal with the challenges and threats posed by authoritarianism to global democracies.
The ministry also said it will continue safeguarding the principles of freedom and equality in the international trade system and defending the shared values of the international democratic community.