Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Taiwan buys 20,000 bottles of Lithuania rum destined for China
The Republic of Lithuania is one of the three Baltic countries in Europe, sharing land borders with Latvia to the north and Belarus to the south. It is a small country with a population of just under three million. It also has relatively small business relations with China, just about 1% of its total export. Late last year, Lithuania opened its own trade representative office, a de facto embassy, in Taiwan, which prompted a furious response from China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and does not give diplomatic recognition to nations that treat Taiwan as a separate state. In fact, China restricted diplomatic contacts with Lithuania and stopped issuing visas to the country. Also, it blocked a shipment of beer from Lithuania recently. Then, there was a shipment of 22,000 bottles of rum from Lithuania which was feared to be blocked like the beer. This was when Taiwan decided to demonstrate its friendship with Lithuania, one of the few countries that recently warmed the relationship with Taiwan despite China’s pressure. So, Taiwan’s state-owned liquor company bought the entire rum shipment and is now trying to sell all 22,000 bottles of rum in the domestic market. How long will it take to sell them all? Will people buy as a sign of appreciation or friendship?
Enjoy reading the article and learn about the diplomatic sensitivity between China and Taiwan.
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