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Lithuania gears up for China-led biz boycott
China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania last month, after the opening of a representative office by Taiwan in Vilnius.
China has told multinationals to sever ties with Lithuania or face being shut out of the Chinese market, a senior government official and an industry body told Reuters, dragging companies into a dispute between the Baltic state and Beijing.
China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania last month, after the opening of a representative office by Taiwan in Vilnius. Lithuania’s ruling coalition had agreed in November last year to support what it described as “those fighting for freedom” in Taiwan, putting its relations with China at risk.
China views self-ruled and democratically governed Taiwan as its territory and has stepped up pressure on countries to downgrade or sever their relations with the island.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that China followed international trade rules and again criticised Lithuania for its stance on Taiwan.
“It has created the false impression of Taiwan being separate from China, gravely harmed China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and started an egregious precedent among the international community.”
Western nations would ‘pay the price’: China
China warned Western nations on Thursday that they would “pay the price” for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a French minister said they would not be joining the US-backed effort.
Washington unveiled its decision not to send a diplomatic delegation earlier in the week, saying it was prompted by widespread rights abuses by China and what it sees as a “genocide” against the Muslim Uighur minority in Xinjiang.
Australia, Britain and Canada followed suit in a flurry of diplomatic bonhomie on Wednesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement in Ottawa and tweeted, “Canada remains deeply disturbed by reports of human rights violations in China.
“As a result, we won’t be sending diplomatic representatives to Beijing for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We’ll continue to support our athletes who work hard to compete on the world stage.”
“The US, Australia, Britain and Canada’s use of the Olympic platform for political manipulation is unpopular and self-isolating, and they will inevitably pay the price for their wrongdoing,” Wang said.
Soon afterwards Beijing received welcome news from Paris, as education and sports minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said France will not join the boycott.
“We need to be careful about the link between sports and politics,” Blanquer said during an interview with RMC radio and BFM television, adding France would carry on condemning human rights violations in China.
