#they also mention georgia as potentially being a friend to taiwan bc russia

[zvaigzdelasas]

[BBC is UK State Media]

Taiwan is looking to make new friends - not just to trade with, but for support in powerful international bodies, in particular the European Union. Proof of one new friendship is easily visible in Taipei's supermarkets, which now sell something that is quite uncommon in Asia: Lithuanian-made India Pale Ale. Imports of the brew, along with Lithuanian rum and chocolate, have soared in Taiwan in the last few years, and Taipei has even announced a $10m investment in Lithuania in the most prized Taiwanese product - chips. Why young people in Taiwan are learning to fight Why Lithuania? Perhaps the most fertile ground for making new friends is in the young democracies of Eastern Europe, places that once fell under the control of Moscow, but are now part of Nato and the EU. During his speech to the national day crowds, the head of Taiwan's parliament warned of authoritarian regimes "rolling back freedom, from Ukraine to Hong Kong, Myanmar to Afghanistan".[...]

In 2021 Lithuania allowed Taipei to set up an office in Vilnius using the name "Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania". Beijing was apoplectic and sent Lithuania's ambassador to Beijing home. Further intimidation has followed. But the government in Vilnius has refused to back down. It has gone further, describing its relations with Taipei as a "strategic priority". "Lithuania is seeking to enhance practical co-operation with Taiwan, a like-minded democracy, and an important economic and technological partner in the region," it says. While the IPA on Taiwanese supermarket shelves may seem like a small thing, it is an indication of where Taiwan wants to go.

15 Oct 23

#they also mention georgia as potentially being a friend to taiwan bc russia #you mean the Georgia that signed on to belt and road? #& signed a strategic partnership like a couple months ago? that georgia? #'oh lithuanian famous for its IPAs' <- statements made by geopolitical opportunists #like put some gira there wtf