Czech military intelligence last week revealed that Chinese diplomats and intelligence officers followed Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and allegedly planned to stage an incident during her visit to Prague last year.
In March last year, Czech media reported that a Chinese diplomat ran a red light while tailing Hsiao’s car. A Czech public radio news Web site reported on Thursday that Chinese officials also had plans to stage a car crash, a claim later confirmed by Czech military intelligence.
The radio report cited a Czech Military Intelligence spokesperson who described the incident as “a case of physically following, to the point of endangering the Taiwanese vice president,” and said that the Chinese operatives also attempted to gather information on Hsiao’s schedule and meetings with Czech politicians.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a cross-party alliance of lawmakers from more than 30 countries, issued a statement condemning the incident as an attempted act of state terror.
Following the revelation of the incident, Taiwan’s Presidential Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mainland Affairs Council all condemned China’s actions and thanked the Czech government and IPAC for their support.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any wrongdoing by its diplomats and condemned the Czech Republic for allowing “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatist” Hsiao’s “sneaky visit.”
It is not surprising that China’s “wolf warrior” diplomats would engage in overseas coercive actions, despite the growing global condemnation of their aggressive actions.
However, what is shocking is that, aside from remaining silent and refraining from condemning China’s attempted political violence against an elected national leader, some opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers dismissed the incident as fake news and made jokes about it.
KMT Legislator Liao Hsien-hsiang (廖先翔) on an online talk show on Friday said that China “seems a bit lame for wanting to create a car accident and failing ... it should be fairly simple, but it could not even succeed in such a simple collision,” while laughing alongside Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯).
Liao’s remarks ignited widespread outrage online and among public figures, with many questioning his morality and allegiance as a lawmaker in Taiwan. The following day, he said that he was merely “teasing” the Chinese Communist Party for its incompetence, sarcastically adding that “Taiwanese don’t have to be afraid of the People’s Liberation Army,” because Taiwan’s “armed forces can definitely annihilate them.” He also implied that the incident was fake news, while Hsu said the Czech government should “get to the truth” of what happened, seemingly choosing to believe China over the Czech Republic.
Given this cavalier attitude, it is no wonder that so many KMT lawmakers are facing recall votes. Liao and Hsu are not isolated cases. KMT legislators have consistently gone out of their way to block defense and civil resilience initiatives, while pushing China-friendly policies, such as attempting to cut the entire budget for the nation’s first indigenous submarine program and proposing amendments to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), creating a “free-trade zone” that has been criticized by many as “opening a national security back door” for China.
As the KMT faces increasing pressure from the recall movement, the launch earlier this month of “Operation Patriot” by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) seems particularly ironic, given that KMT lawmakers have shown little regard for national security.
Fortunately, many people have a choice next month through recall voting to express whether they believe the KMT can protect Taiwan’s democracy and guard their safety as it claims.
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