The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Estonia submitted a formal diplomatic note to the Riigikogu over lawmakers' attendance at an event celebrating Taiwan's National Day in Tallinn.
In the note, the embassy expressed concern that Riigikogu members Marko Mihkelson (Reform), Peeter Tali (Eesti 200), Kristo Enn Vaga (Reform), Kalle Laanet (Reform), Jüri Jaanson (Reform), Riina Sikkut (SDE), Anti Poolamets (EKRE) and Evelin Poolamets (EKRE) attended a reception marking the National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Tallinn on September 29, organized by the Taipei Representative Office in Latvia.
The embassy recalled that Estonia has made a clear commitment to recognize the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China and Taiwan as an inalienable part of Chinese territory.
"The government of the Republic of Estonia has undertaken not to establish formal or official relations with Taiwan in any form," the Chinese Embassy said.
"Members of the Riigikogu are officials of an Estonian state institution. The attendance of the aforementioned Riigikogu members at the 'reception' can be regarded as a form of official interaction with Taiwan, which violates the commitments made and undermines China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the note said.
The embassy called on the Riigikogu members in question to adhere to the one-China principle and exercise caution in their words and actions concerning Taiwan to avoid further damage to bilateral relations.
The Chinese Embassy has also sent diplomatic notes in previous years over Riigikogu members' contacts with Taiwan. The most recent such note was sent last summer, following a visit to Taiwan by the Riigikogu's Estonia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group.
The parliamentary group plans to continue attending events
According to Kristo Enn Vaga, chairman of the Riigikogu Estonia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, it has become something of a tradition for the Chinese Embassy to send diplomatic notes whenever the group attends Taiwan-related events.
"When communist China writes that I or other Riigikogu members are doing something wrong, I take it as a compliment because it must mean I'm doing something right," Vaga said.
He noted that although Estonia has diplomatic relations with China, no foreign country can dictate what members of the Riigikogu may or may not do.
"Estonia does not recognize Taiwan as a state and there are no plans to change that. But from a pragmatic perspective, we see Taiwan, with the world's fastest-growing economy, as a potential partner," Vaga said.
Vaga emphasized that Estonia and Taiwan have cooperated on several projects. For example, the Taiwanese government has made financial contributions in cooperation with Estonia to support Ukraine.
"Thanks to these donations, a family home was opened in Zhytomyr Oblast at the end of the summer. It was built entirely with funding from the Taiwanese government and the project was carried out by ESTDEV, the Estonian government agency responsible for humanitarian aid."
According to Vaga, economic cooperation with China is being scaled back.
"This has also been highlighted in the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service's annual reports, which say that reducing dependence on China would be advisable, particularly in the technology sector, as it could become a security threat. Even now, the use of Chinese technology in certain critical sectors may pose a security threat to Estonia," Vaga said.
The Estonia-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group has no intention of yielding to Chinese criticism.
"I personally, along with many of my colleagues, intend to continue engaging with Taiwan just as actively as we have in the past and Chinese criticism or diplomatic notes certainly won't change that," Vaga said.
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