Lithuanian parliamentarians, along with lawmakers from Latvia and Estonia, landed in Taipei on Nov. 28 to attend a Taiwan-led democracy forum in early December. The visit comes as Beijing downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania to the level of charge d’affaires and put economic pressure on the Baltic state over its decision to allow the regime-claimed island to open a de facto embassy in its capital city Vilnius. “This trip will be another step in understanding each other because we are dealing with the same challenges,” Matas Maldeikis, chair of the Lithuanian Parliament’s Taiwan Friendship Group, told Taiwan state-owned news agency Central News Agency (CNA). Dovile Sakaliene, a Lithuanian lawmaker, said she was glad to visit Taiwan. As an outspoken critic of the communist regime she has been listed on Beijing’s travel ban. She told CNA that it’s “an honor” to be blacklisted by the Chinese regime, and that delegates …