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Maryann Xue

Beijing sparked a diplomatic row on Tuesday by recalling its envoy to Lithuania after the Baltic nation allowed Taipei to open a representative office bearing the name “Taiwan”.
Shen Zhifei is the latest in a list of Chinese ambassador recalls, which took place during periods of significant political turmoil or over issues related to Taiwan. Beijing regards the self-ruled island as a breakaway province and firmly holds the one-China policy to be its red line.
1966: ambassador to Indonesia
Tensions between China and Indonesia escalated after a communist-led coup attempt in 1965 that Jakarta claimed had been backed by Beijing, which denied involvement.
China recalled Yao Zhongming, the ambassador to Indonesia, in April 1966 amid rising anti-Chinese attacks. The two countries cut diplomatic ties in 1967.
From 1965 to 1966, a series of mass killings took place in Indonesia targeting members of the Community Party of Indonesia and those who sympathised with the communist cause. Ethnic Chinese were also killed for their involvement with the Communist Party, though there is no official record of the death toll.
The two sides restored diplomatic relations 23 years later, in 1990.
Chinese demand apology as Indonesian communist-purge film gets Oscar nod
1966-76: all ambassadors recalled during Cultural Revolution
When China’s Communist Party leader Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966 to reinvigorate the revolutionary spirit in the nation and purge society of old customs and foreign capitalist influence, the country largely became isolated from the rest of the world.
Beijing previously had 41 foreign missions, but diplomatic activities became significantly reduced following the start of the movement. Almost all Chinese ambassadors were recalled during the decade-long period, with only the envoy in Cairo, Egypt, remaining by the spring of 1967.
Cultural Revolution, 50 years on – the pain, passion and power struggle that shaped today’s China
1989: all ambassadors recalled following Tiananmen Square crackdown
China recalled all ambassadors for a general meeting following the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989, but officials denied or refused to confirm that the action was linked to the pro-democracy protests.
Instead, the reasons given were “annual home leave” or “scheduled vacation”.
Western diplomats suggested that Beijing had scheduled a meeting in order to offer the official version of what it called a “counter-revolutionary rebellion”, a move taken to prevent further diplomatic defections. More than 20 Chinese diplomats had defected in the aftermath of the crackdown, according to media reports.
1981: ambassador to the Netherlands
China recalled its ambassador to the Netherlands in 1981 after the government allowed a Dutch company to sell submarines to Taiwan. The Chinese government also requested the Dutch to recall its ambassador to Beijing.
In the absence of ambassadors, relations between the two countries dropped to the charge d’affaires level, before resuming as normal in 1984.
1995: ambassador to the US
In a similar row over Taiwan, China in June 1995 recalled its ambassador to Washington, Li Daoyu, after the US allowed a private visit by then-Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui.
Lee was the first Taiwanese president to visit the US since it withdrew recognition of Taiwan in 1979 as part of a move to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Beijing said it had decided to recall its ambassador to “report on his work in view of the current state of Sino-US relations”, while Li said that he was being recalled for “consultations” in protest at the US action.
The US decision to grant a visa to Lee pushed the two countries to a diplomatic low, amid already declining relations due to conflicts over human rights issues, trade, and military technology. In giving Lee permission to privately visit Cornell University, his alma mater, the US was “playing with fire”, China declared.
At the time, then-president Bill Clinton had yet to make any arrangements for his visit to China or for then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin to visit Washington.
Li resumed his post two months later after the US promised to observe the one-China policy.


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Taiwan

China’s history of recalling ambassadors goes back to Mao era

Communist Party chairman and Chinese president Mao Zedong (second right) joins (from left) premier Zhou Enlai, defence minister Lin Biao and ‘Madame Mao’ Jiang Qing in a standing ovation during a meeting in Beijing in April 1967. Mao’s Cultural Revolution was launched the previous year. Photo: Xinhua/AFP

Former Chinese representative to the United Nations Li Daoyu (C) leaves after the opening ceremony of the Lanting Forum in Beijing on June 25, 2021. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

Taiwan could gain from stand-off between Beijing and Lithuania but must brace for backlash: analysts

China’s embassy building in Vilnius, Lithuania. Taiwan in July said it would open a diplomatic outpost in the Baltic nation. Photo: EPA-EFE

This general view shows the Lithuanian Embassy in Beijing on August 10, 2021, as China demanded Lithuania recall its envoy to Beijing, after Vilnius allowed Taiwan to set up an office under its own name in a move seen as provocative by the Chinese government. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

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A pop-up testing site in Times Square in New York as cases continue to surge in the US. Photo: Reuters

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China

Diplomacy


Political turmoil and the Cultural Revolution sparked the snapping of ties in the 1960s, while Tiananmen Square was the trigger two decades on
Taiwan and the one-China policy caused friction in other instances



Political turmoil and the Cultural Revolution sparked the snapping of ties in the 1960s, while Tiananmen Square was the trigger two decades on.


US-China relations

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Cultural Revolution

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