The Czech Republic is ready to boost its exchanges with Taiwan to a fuller scale as it hopes to upgrade bilateral relations, especially in trade and culture, when global economic conditions return to stability, a top Czech diplomat in Taiwan said.
Commenting on current Taiwan-Czech relations, Czech Economic and Cultural Office (CECO) Representative Juraj Koudelka said in an interview with the Central News Agency earlier this week that in terms of the number of tourists, the number of Taiwanese companies investing in the Czech Republic and bilateral exchanges of goods, the Czech Republic's relations with Taiwan “are on a high and very good level.”
CECO's effort in promoting bilateral relations has been fruitful in recent years, but it is not satisfied yet, Koudelka said.
As the global economy recovers, his office intends to do more to facilitate increased exchanges, which are expected to translate into stronger bilateral ties, he said.
An estimated 15,000 Taiwanese tourists visited the central European country last year. That number is expected to grow and return to pre-economic crisis levels now that the economy is starting to show signs of recovery, said Koudelka, who took office in January.
Tourism is important in increasing bilateral understanding because of the “people-to-people contact,” he said.
Koudelka said he didn’t know exactly when Taiwan would be granted visa-free privilege to the Schengen Area, which consists of 25 European countries, but he expected the visa-free waiver would make it easier for Taiwanese tourists to travel.
The Czech Republic has been very supportive of the proposed measure, he said, adding that it was his country that first raised the issue during its EU presidency in the first half of last year.
Asked about the recent debate in Taiwan over the abolishment of capital punishment, Koudelka said he would not try to give advice to anyone. As an EU member country, abolition of the capital punishment came naturally for the Czech Republic, he said.
He said discussions about the death penalty in his country had also been very difficult and he believed that due process is very important.
Offering observations, he said several things are quite important as, “first, it [the death penalty] is forever and you can't undo it; second, sometimes it can be misused, which has happened in our history; and third, research has found the death penalty does not serve as an effective tool to reduce criminality.”
The Czech Republic abolished the death penalty because “in our view, human rights are very important. They are a very strong part of what we do and what we believe in,” Koudelka said.
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