The Czech Republic’s Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution that supports a possible visit by the senate president to Taiwan.
The resolution, initiated by Czech Senator Pavel Fischer, was passed with 50 votes in favor, one against and one abstention.
The resolution blasts Beijing for having its Prague embassy send a letter to former Czech Senate president Jaroslav Kubera earlier this year threatening repercussions for Czech businesses if he visited Taiwan.
Photo: Screen grab from Milos Vystrcil’s Facebook page
The resolution shows the Senate’s support for a visit to Taiwan by Senate President Milos Vystrcil, accompanied by Czech business representatives, as the visit would be in the diplomatic long-term interests of the Czech Republic, the resolution stated.
Vystrcil said he has yet to make a final decision on whether to visit Taiwan, but the more China issues threats, the more likely it is for him to visit.
Vystrcil’s predecessor, Kubera, who passed away on Jan. 20 at the age of 72, was a long-time supporter of Taiwan, and had been preparing to visit Taipei in February.
Following his death, Czech media made public the Chinese embassy’s threat toward Kubera.
Kubera’s family later said that the threat contributed to his death.
In March, Czech government officials, including Czech President Milos Zeman, Cabinet members and legislative leaders, issued a joint statement condemning China’s actions.
The statement also said that the Czech Republic intends to continue cooperating with Taiwan in the fields of economics and culture without contravening Beijing’s “one China” principle or breaking the country’s diplomatic ties with China.
Vystrcil said that his office received telephone calls from the Chinese embassy, warning him against congratulating President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her second-term inauguration on Wednesday.
In Taipei, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that the ministry would welcome a visit from a Czech politician.
Separately yesterday, Legislative Speaker Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) welcomed Vystrcil on Facebook, hoping that he would visit Taiwan after the pandemic eases.
While Zeman is considered a supporter of China, Czech Senate Vice President Miluse Horska, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and Czech Chamber of Deputies member Marek Benda, who chairs the Czech Republic-Taiwan Friendship Group, sent their congratulations to Tsai in video clips.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
RSS