After China retaliated against Lithuania for opening the Taiwan Representative Office, a de facto embassy in Lithuania, both the Netherlands and France took actions to support Taiwan in boosting its international status.
On November 23, the Dutch House of Representatives passed a motion with an overwhelming vote of 149 to 1, calling on the Dutch government and countries with similar ideas jointly to study the feasibility of supporting Taiwan’s participation in Interpol’s General Assembly.
On November 30, the Dutch House of Representatives passed two motions in support of Taiwan. Both actions happened on the same day. In the first, it was120 votes to 30 to call on the Dutch government not to accept the Chinese Communist Party’s unilateral change of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and 117 votes to 33 to urge the European Union to support Lithuania in strengthening its relations with Taiwan.
On November 30, the French National Assembly passed a non-binding cross-party resolution with a vote of 39 to 2, to support France’s continued diplomatic steps to support Taiwan’s participation in the work of international organizations, and in particular of the WHO.
On December 1, The Irish Senate passed without dissent a resolution condemning China for human rights abuses, supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, and reaffirmed that reunification between China and Taiwan must not be sought by force. It also called on the Irish government to maintain its strong support for the personal and political liberties of the people of Taiwan, to increase its interaction with the government and people of Taiwan, including through the use of the EU Representative Office in Taiwan.
Sources:
1. Radio France International, November 23, 2021
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/国际/20211123-149票对1票-荷兰众院力挺台湾参与国际刑警组织
2. Epoch Times, December 1, 2021
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/21/12/1/n13409780.htm
3. Radio France International, November 30, 2021
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/法国/20211130-法国议会决议支持台湾参与重要国际组织
4. Central News Agency, December 2, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202112020018.aspx