Taiwan’s foreign ministry says that ties with Poland are strong and that Poland is a strong democratic partner.
Poland donated 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan, which arrived on Sunday.
After the donation, Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau said that Poland recognizes Taiwan as a part of China.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said on Tuesday that his remarks were made because many European countries are reassessing their ties with China. Rau said that Poland’s China policy has not changed. But Rau did criticize China for putting pressure on Lithuania after it welcomed Taiwan to set up an office called the Taiwanese Representative Office. The office is the first one that used “Taiwanese” rather than “Taipei” in its name. “Taipei” is usually used to avoid naming Taiwan as a separate nation from China as many nations observe China’s One China policy. China recalled its ambassador from Lithuania over the move, and Rau said that China’s measures were inappropriate.
Ou said that Poland is a strong partner in freedom and democracy. She said both countries have signed 22 agreements and the two sides are strengthening their ties. She said Poland is an important partner for Taiwan in Eastern Europe. Taiwan is also very grateful for Poland’s support and its recent vaccine donation.