Visiting Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib yesterday criticized the expulsion, at China’s request, of a Taiwanese diplomat from a meeting held by the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Industry on Wednesday.
“From [the perspective of] simple human decency, it is unacceptable for me to throw [out] guests that I had invited as a host,” Hrib told a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Czech news outlet HlidaciPes.org reported that Representative to the Czech Republic Wang Chung-yi (汪忠一) was asked to leave the meeting after Chinese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Zhang Jianmin (張建敏) demanded it.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
Zhang said it was in the interest of the Czech Republic and Czech President Milos Zeman’s visit to China next month, HlidaciPes.org reported.
Hrib, who assumed office in November last year, said that he had faced a similar request from China when he held a customary meeting with foreign diplomats based in Prague, but he refused to comply.
He reiterated his opposition to the inclusion of a “one China” clause in the sister city agreement signed by Prague and Beijing in 2016, saying that his predecessors made a mistake by letting Beijing drag them into such a complicated matter.
“From my perspective, I would like the Prague city to have mutually beneficial relationships with the cities all over the world, but those partnerships must be equally beneficial for both sides,” he said, adding that the clause only benefited one party.
The negotiations are ongoing, he added.
Turning to economic ties between Taiwan and the Czech Republic, Hrib said that Taiwanese investments have helped create job opportunities in his country, while many of China’s investment promises have not been fulfilled.
Most investments from China did not appear to be real investments, but rather acquisitions, Hrib said.
He also raised concerns about a scandal implicating Chinese oil firm CEFC China Energy Co, which has made huge investments in the Czech Republic.
“Basically, their primary representative just kind of disappeared and his direct subordinate was convicted in the US for bribing UN representatives,” Hrib said. “This is I think not the investments that I would personally welcome in the Czech Republic.”
The Han Kuang exercises, the nation’s major war games, are to start today and run for five days. The drills are to include a military aircraft emergency takeoff and landing exercise on a regular roadway on Wednesday, featuring all three fighter jet models in Taiwan’s fleet, a military source said last week. The drill is to begin at 6:30am on a 3km section of Provincial Highway No. 1 in Pingtung County’s Jiadong Township (佳冬), and feature an Indigenous Defense Fighter, an F-16V, a Mirage 2000-5 and an E-2K Hawkeye early warning aircraft, the source said. The emergency landing and takeoff drill aims to
MRNA VACCINE: Heart inflammation is rare, but possible after a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot, and students need to be aware of possible side effects, an expert said As Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations for students aged 12 to 17 are to begin on campuses on Thursday next week, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday urged recipients to be especially watchful for five signs of possible myocarditis or pericarditis, which are rare adverse reactions to some COVID-19 vaccines. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices convener Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) joined the CECC’s daily news briefing to report on possible side effects after receiving a BioNTech vaccine. Lee said that cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been observed in people in the US who have received mRNA COVID-19
Taiwan on Friday accused China of seeking to use the Honduran election to “create controversy” and undermine Taiwan’s long-standing ties with the country, saying it would strive to win support for Honduras’ relations with Taipei. Honduras’ main left-wing opposition party, the Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE), led by ousted former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, has said that if it wins November’s presidential election it would seek to “readjust” the country’s debt and establish diplomatic relations with China. Honduras is one of 15 UN member countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has already warned Honduras not
TESTING THE WATERS: Making the considerations public a day after a Biden-Xi phone call indicates that the US is testing China’s reaction, a think tank head said A Financial Times report that the US is considering allowing Taiwan to change the name of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington to feature the name “Taiwan” highlighted Washington’s “two-pronged” approach to China, a researcher said yesterday. The report on Friday said that Washington might allow the nation to change the office’s name to “Taiwan Representative Office.” The report came after US President Joe Biden on Thursday spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) by telephone for the first time since February. A White House readout of the call said that “the two leaders discussed the responsibility of both
RSS