BEIJING—The Chinese embassy in Lithuania has temporarily suspended consular services until further notice for “technical reasons,” said a statement on the mission’s website on Thursday that was taken down shortly after publication.
The suspension came after the Chinese regime on Sunday downgraded its diplomatic ties with the Baltic State, expressing strong dissatisfaction at the opening of a de facto Lithuanian embassy in Taiwan.
The Chinese embassy’s statement was published at 13:36 GMT, a timestamp on its website showed, but had disappeared as of 14:00 GMT.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory, despite the fact that Taiwan is a de facto independent country, with its own military, democratically-elected government, and constitution.”
The CCP has stepped up pressure on countries to scale back or sever their relations with Taiwan, even non-official ones.
Lithuania has formal relations with China and not Taiwan but had angered Beijing earlier this year when it allowed the island to open an office in the country using the name Taiwan. The Chinese regime recalled its ambassador in August.
