Journalist: British media "Spectator" interviewed Lithuanian Foreign Minister Mr. Gabrielius Landsbergis on May 28 during his visit to the UK, and he said that "a democratic world needs to reduce its dependence on autocracies (like China)." "We will defend the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country that is under attack and has the right to defend itself, and we will help that country to defend it. The same principles apply to Taiwan." "The future of Taiwan and Lithuania-the future of the global security order-is being decided in Ukraine. There is a battle going on for small states that depend on rules-based order".Do you have any comments?

Spokesperson: These remarks made by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Mr. Gabrielius Landsbergis do not reflect the basic facts and are full of ideological prejudice, which China firmly opposes. It is not difficult to find out that there are serious deviations in Mr. Landsbergis' view of China and the world. The Lithuanian side ignores China's critical role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major power in maintaining world peace and security, maliciously touting the China threat here and there, deliberately caters to certain countries and groups to manipulate the ideology of "democracy and authoritarianism," and provokes confrontation between the East and West. These approaches are detrimental to others without benefiting Lithuania itself. They will only lead to conflict and confrontation, divide the international community, and will not make Lithuania's future more secure. Mr. Landsbergis' remarks about defending Taiwan's sovereignty, democracy and freedom in disregard of the one China principle universally recognized by the international community is a gross interference in China's internal affairs and a violation of the norms of international relations.

1. China and Lithuania are thousands of miles away, and there is no historical grievance, geopolitical entanglement, or interest conflict between the two countries. Some Lithuanian politicians cling to the Cold War mentality, take the initiative to choose sides among major powers, deliberately provoked ideology and group confrontation, and revel in the illusory ecstasy brought by "a small country could challenge big power" and compliments of so-called like-minded countries. It is astonishing that Lithuania poses itself as a victim of China's coercion and threats while having violated the one-China principle and taken actions to worsen the bilateral relations.

China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace. We believe that countries, regardless of size and strength, are equal members of the international community. We uphold a new type of international relations featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. We advocate the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. Focusing on its development, China has never invaded any country, never participated in or organized any military bloc, never engaged in proxy wars, never threatened to use force, and never provoked others. How come China threats others? China never exports ideology, does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, does not provoke trade wars, does not suppress foreign enterprises for no reason, and does not engage in long-arm jurisdiction. The so-called China Coercion is ridiculous. China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a guardian of international order, and a provider of public goods. China has proposed the "Belt and Road" initiative, the global development initiative, and the global security initiative to contribute Chinese wisdom and solutions to the international community to solve significant global peace and development issues. So, where are the systemic challenges? Today, with the democratization of international relations and the globalization of the world economy, provoking group confrontation has no future; building "small yard with high fence" means closure and backward; decoupling and cutting off the supply chain will be detrimental to all.

2. Some western countries and politicians deliberately portray the relationship between China and the West as a struggle between "democracy and authoritarianism", and often stick the label of "authoritarian" on China, to provoke group confrontation and form "small circles" to suppress dissidents to maintain Western hegemony and dominance. No country has the right to define the international order unilaterally and divide the world into "democracies and autocracies" by its ideological criteria. Any attempt to label countries by ideology is subjective, irrational, and undemocratic.

As a shared value of humanity, democracy is people's right in all countries. It is not a privilege of a small number of countries. Whether a government is democratic should be determined by its people, not by a handful of finger-pointing outsiders. A country's democratic system and its path to democracy should be chosen independently by its people according to their national conditions. Nothing works better than the most suitable. China's democracy is democracy for the people. Its essence and core are that the people are the masters of the country. China practices whole-process people's democracy under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. It integrates all aspects of democracy, including democratic election, democratic consultation, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. It is the most broad-based, authentic, and effective socialist democracy. China's democracy has contributed to the country's development and social progress and delivered a happy life for the Chinese people. China has completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. With the eradication of absolute poverty, the 1.4 billion Chinese people are now marching toward shared prosperity. China has made the most significant advance in individual freedom in its history of thousands of years and fully unleashed the creativity of the Chinese people. 

3. Some Western countries and politicians claim to "maintain a rules-based international order." Whose rules and order are they talking about? China believes that there is but one system in the world, that is the international system with the UN at its core; there is but one order, that is the order based on the international law; there is but one set of rules, namely, the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law and the basic norms of relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. A few countries are not qualified to unilaterally define international rules and order, nor are they eligible to impose their standards on others, let alone arbitrarily define rules and order based on their interests.

It is well-known that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The one-China principle is a universally recognized norm of international relations and a universal consensus of the international community. Lithuania, in disregard of China's strong protest and repeated representations, allowed the Taiwan authorities to set up "Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania," openly created the false impression of "one China, one Taiwan" in the world, renounced the political commitment made by Lithuania in the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and now even claims to defend Taiwan's sovereignty and territorial integrity! It is self-evident that who is violating and undermining international rules and order. The Taiwan question and the Ukraine issue are different in nature. Anyone who deliberately compares Taiwan to Ukraine, two fundamentally different issues, is playing with fire.

4. We don't know what Lithuania's future will be, but Taiwan's future lies in its reunification with mainland China. Solving the Taiwan issue and realizing China's reunification is a historical trend that no one can hold back. There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is part of China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. As a member of the international community, Lithuania should respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any way. Anyone shall not underestimate the Chinese people's firm resolve and capability to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

5. The Lithuanian government's current policy towards China has defied the one-China principle that its previous governments have consistently adhered to, damaged the credibility of the country, sacrificed the fundamental interests of the country and its people, and violated the EU's unified position on Taiwan-related issues, which has been criticized by the insightful people in Lithuania and EU. China is open to communications on bilateral relations. Proper handling of the Taiwan question is the premise and key to promoting the normalization of bilateral relations between China and Lithuania. We hoped that Lithuania should reduce prejudice, assess China's social system and development path objectively and rationally, fully aware of the importance and sensitivity of the Taiwan question, correct its mistakes and respect the one-China principle, and work together with China for the well-beings of the two countries and peoples.