“I am Taiwanese; I am Czech, because we are both believers of democracy.” Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) yesterday gave a speech in the Czech Senate, a day after a delegation he is leading visited Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil’s hometown.
The delegation — which was invited to the central European nation by Vystrcil with hopes to bolster bilateral ties and obtain international support for Taiwan’s bid to regain UN membership — comprises Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Yosi Takun and Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲), Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Shih-chieh (黃世杰).
The delegation visited Vystrcil’s hometown of Telc and was warmly welcomed by Telc Mayor Vladimir Brtnik, Vyscoina Region head Vitezslav Schrek and other officials.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
You and his delegation members laid flowers and lit candles at a commemorative monument to Olga Havlova, whose support was instrumental in the involvement of Vaclav Havel, her husband, in the 1989 Velvet Revolution, a non-violent transition of power.
You praised Telc’s beauty, culture and architectural style, saying it lives up to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The delegation’s visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the town being named a UNESCO heritage site.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
You said the town reminded him of Yilan County, where Taiwan cypress trees grow at 2,000m above sea level.
Yilan had tried and failed to apply for UNESCO heritage status multiple times, as its application is blocked by an overbearing neighbor, he said, an apparent reference to China.
“I believe, one day, that [Taiwan] will become a UN member with the support of our international friends, and finally succeed in applying for UNESCO heritage status,” You said.
Photo: CNA
In his speech yesterday, You urged democratic countries around the world to “understand the core ideas of the Chinese Communist Party and to enact preventive measures against its spread, or it could, soon, bring about irreparable disaster for the human race.”
Chinese political views, hearkening back to an imperialist mindset, are precisely why it is dangerous, as regional hegemony threatens world peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, You said.
As a free, democratic country, Taiwan is different from China and stands against any form of authoritarianism, he said.
“One can say, for certain, that safeguarding Taiwan is in the public interest of the world,” You said.
“The alliance of democracies, must let authoritarian countries understand that we will not stand aside and let them fulfill their desires,” You said. “I believe fully in the Czech national motto: ‘Truth prevails,’ and that freedom and democracy will ultimately win.”
You echoed Vystrcil’s statement, “I am Taiwanese” in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei two years ago, saying: “I am Taiwanese; I am Czech, because we are both believers of democracy.”
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