The loser Landsbergiukas is trying to make a career in the EU at the expense of all of us

    "I cannot agree with all the thoughts expressed by President Gitan Nauseda during the annual report in the Seimas. But his remarks on the government's decision to open a Taiwanese representation in Vilnius hit the top ten. "The assumption was too optimistic, the government was not prepared for retaliation, and the business representatives were not warned in time."

 

    Lithuania itself has decided to challenge China and cross its red line on relations with Taiwan, without coordinating its position with EU partners, who would probably have offered to be more restrained, not to provoke a sleeping giant, not to take a step avoided by the United States.

 

    There were no wider meetings in Lithuania. Reliable sources have told me that Mr Landsbergis has not coordinated policy with all ministers, even those in charge of the economy and foreign trade. It was almost a solo decision to play va banque with one of the most powerful and hardest-knit countries in the world.

 

    Mr Landsbergis, who is increasingly inclined to pontificate, reacted quickly to the president's remarks. According to the Foreign Minister, the president's remarks about China's response were expressed "perhaps without all the information." "Perhaps EU even stopped any attempt by China to put pressure on third countries."

 

    Even if no foreign company has severed trade relations with Lithuania (I doubt it), China's threats will not go unaffected. What is important is not only what has been done so far, but how China's threats will affect companies intending to invest in Lithuania, companies which know that Beijing does not shy away from penalizing those countries on its blacklist, and that Lithuania is close to the top of that list.

 

    Why risk large-scale sanctions when investing in a troubled country when there are many other attractive alternatives? Estonia, Latvia, Poland. Company directors would act irresponsibly if they did not weigh the risks of anger in China, and most of them tend to take measured steps. We will only be able to estimate the cost of Chinese annoyance in a few years.

 

    In each case, it is clear that Lithuanian business has already suffered from China's actions. At the end of April, the European Commission (EC) decided to allocate € 130 million. An aid package for Lithuanian businesses affected by China, which can already apply to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation for working capital loans.

 

    The amount is considerable, and the loss is considerable. Last Wednesday, the Minister of National Defense A. Anušauskas said that the military support provided by Lithuania to Ukraine so far amounts to about 115 million. euros, and therefore less.

 

    We cannot accurately predict China's actions, but it is taking an increasingly tough and belligerent stance on the United States. In recent days, China's defense minister in the United States has said, "Stop interfering in China's internal affairs ... If you want a confrontation, we will fight to the end" to suspend Taiwan's independence. Chinese military planes are increasingly flying into Taiwan’s air defense zone. During a telephone conversation, Chinese President Xi Jinpin assured Putin that Beijing would continue to support Moscow on "sovereignty and security" issues. In these circumstances, it is difficult to imagine that Beijing would look at Lithuania with more forgiving eye.

 

    Landsbergis justified his actions by saying that they “come from exactly the same place - from transatlantic stone. ”We need consistency, if we criticize Russia, we need to criticize China for similar actions. 

 

This cannot be disputed, but Lithuania has not only criticized China, but in opening the Taiwanese representation, Lithuania has gone further than other countries due to unjustified vanity and the desire to show that we are bolder, more courageous, more consistent in our values ​​policy. With such exaggerations, with this passion for leadership, Lithuania seeks to convince itself and its partners that it has a significant geopolitical role, that it sits at the table where the most important decisions are made. But the reality is different because we are a small, ordinary EU country.

 

    Lithuania was right to criticize China's human rights abuses. The Seimas resolution equated the persecution of the Uighur minority in China with genocide. Maybe the colors are a bit thickened here - genocide is not a clearly defined concept that carries a huge emotional burden. There is already a real danger that the concept will be underestimated and vulgarized. I think that Lithuania did well in becoming the first country to withdraw from the China-Eastern Europe Cooperation Platform 17 + 1, although it did not coordinate its resolution with the other 16 countries that are supposedly its partners.

 

    Not only the Government and its members see Lithuania's leadership in various fields. In his speech, the President said that "Lithuania is already a clear leader" in freeing itself from energy dependence on Russia. Yes, due to the sensible resolutions of previous governments, Lithuania is more independent of Russian energy than other countries. But why should this be seen as a sign or proof of "leadership"?”