{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mariodiazbalart.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressional-taiwan-caucus-co-chairs-urge-lithuanian-leaders-continue", "Congressional Taiwan Caucus Co-Chairs Urge Lithuanian Leaders to Continue Bold Support for Taiwan in Joint Letter", "2026-08-10", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Mario Diaz-Balart", "D000600", "mariodiazbalart.house.gov", "mariodiazbalart", "https://mariodiazbalart.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ami Bera (D-CA), Andy Barr (R-KY), and Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus sent a joint letter to the Honorable Mindaugas Sinkevi\u010dius, Prime Minister of Lithuania; Honorable Gitanas Naus\u0117da, President of Lithuania; Honorable Juozas Olekas, Speaker of the Seimas; Honorable K\u0119stutis Budrys, Foreign Minister; and Honorable Robertas Kaunas, Defense Minister, requesting that Lithuania continues its courageous path of maintaining relations with Taiwan.\n\nA PDF of the letter can be found here, or read the full text below:\n\nHonorable Leaders of Lithuania,\n\nAs co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, we highly value Lithuania\u2019s friendship and steadfast support for freedom across the globe.\n\nSince Lithuania overturned communist rule, our countries have stood together to defend freedom and democracy in Europe, the Western Hemisphere, and the Indo-Pacific. In fact, in the face of the People\u2019s Republic of China\u2019s (PRC) bullying and coercion, our countries have stood together to support a free and democratic Taiwan.\n\nWe welcomed Lithuania\u2019s decision in 2022 to withdraw from 17+1 format, an organization which was created by the PRC to divide the transatlantic alliance. Lithuania also demonstrated remarkable leadership in convincing other Baltic states to do the same. We appreciate that Lithuania has always been a strong leader among the European Union countries in opposing autocratic influences, inviting Taiwan to open its office under the name of Taiwanese Representative Office in 2021.\n\nWhile we understand that the PRC continues to bully countries for maintaining any relationship with Taiwan, we respectfully urge you to consider the importance of maintaining relationships with those that share our democratic values. the PRC also continues to enable Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, contrary to European interests.\n\nFor these reasons, we respectfully urge you to continue the courageous path of maintaining your substantive relationship with Taiwan, which has been a trusted and reliable partner of our respective countries for decades.\n\nSincerely,\n\nMario Diaz-Balart\n\nMember of Congress\n\nAmi Bera\n\nMember of Congress\n\nAndy Barr\n\nMember of Congress\n\nGreg Stanton\n\nMember of Congress", 1, "2026-08-11T05:54:29Z", "2026-08-11T05:56:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mariodiazbalart.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressional-taiwan-caucus-co-chairs-urge-lithuanian-leaders-continue"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6869469545781612, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}