Former Czech president Vaclav Havel may visit Taiwan next month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Maysing Yang (楊黃美幸), the chairwoman of the ministry's Research and Planning Committee, met with Havel at a conference on Cuban democratic development in the Czech Republic earlier this month.
"Havel told me he plans to visit Taiwan in the middle of November. He expressed sympathy for Taiwan's situation and said he understands our difficulties," Yang said.
In January, Havel was forced to cancel a trip to Taiwan due to health reasons. He was originally scheduled to accept an honorary doctorate from National Chengchi University and attend a discussion with Taiwanese writers and artists during the stay.
Havel, who led the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989 to overthrow the communist rulers of what was then Czechoslovakia, also told Yang he knows about the pressure Taiwan faces in dealing with China's Communist Party.
Havel gave Yang a book he wrote and drew a heart next to his signature.
"The heart signifies his care for Taiwan," Yang said.
Many political leaders attended the conference on Cuban democratic development, which Havel organized.
"He received a standing ovation after delivering his speech. He is well respected in Europe," Yang said.
Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊), who also joined the conference, said she had invited Havel to visit Taiwan on behalf of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Chen Chu was in the Czech Republic recruiting the country's scientists and other high-tech professionals to seek employment in Taiwan.
The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy may send Havel an official invitation soon.
"Havel will certainly meet with President Chen if he comes," a senior ministry official said.
Taiwan's representative office in the Czech Republic has contacted Havel's aides to discuss details of the trip, according to the official.
"We cannot arrange a tight schedule for him during his stay here, because his health is not so good," said the official.
The government invited Havel to visit Taiwan for the first time shortly after he stepped down last year. However, the politician was unable to come because of his fragile health.
Havel, a human rights activist and a playwright, became president of Czechoslovakia in 1989 after the collapse of the communist regime.
In 1990 he became the first president of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, and was elected president of the Czech Republic in 1993 after the Czech Republic and Slovakia split.
He stepped down as president last February after serving two five-year terms in the Czech Republic.
Despite the Czech Republic's lack of diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Havel received former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and former premier Lien Chan (連戰).
At the 1995 UN General Assembly, the Czech Republic supported Taiwan's unsuccessful bid to rejoin the world body.
Last February, the Taipei International Book Exhibition featured a wide range of publications from the Czech Republic, with special attention give to the publishing of two Chinese translations of Havel's books, The Power of the Powerless and Farewell to Politics.
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