Sun, Feb 28, 2016 page3

• Lawmakers pan Prague for sovereignty slight

  • By Lin Liang-sheng, Ku Chia-hsin and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
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  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers castigated the Prague City Council’s support for China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan in a sistership agreement that the city has signed with Beijing, and called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the premier to express the nation’s disapproval.

  The city assembly on Thursday ratified an agreement which included a clause stating that “Prague recognizes the one-China policy, as well as recognizes Taiwan as an inseparable part of Chinese territory.”

  The phrase was a major impediment to the signing of the agreement — which has been under negotiation since the summer of last year. The council’s final decision has met the opprobrium of Taiwanese legislators and Czech councilors alike.

  DPP Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米) on Friday demanded to know the nation’s response to the slight on the nation’s sovereignty after raising the issue with Premier Simon Chang (張善政).

  Chang said the nation did not recognize the claim, adding that the Republic of China (ROC) was not involved in the negotiating or signing of the agreement.

  Other countries have similar deals, and while the government must respond to the incident, it is not within the remit of the Legislative Yuan to do so, Chang said, adding that the government must have an appropriate platform to tender its protests to the Czech government.

  Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said the ministry would strongly protest any action slighting Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that the foreign ministry would express its concerns to the Czech government.

  While Prague Mayor Adriana Krnacova said that the agreement was mutually beneficial to both Beijing and Prague, and called for an increase in exchanges aimed at mutual development and prosperity, its passage has caused controversy in the city assembly.

  According to reports in the Prague Post, assembly member Lukas Kaucky of the Czech Socialist Democratic Party said the policy was in line with the Czech Republic’s foreign policy and that it was passed because Prague also has a sister city agreement with Taipei, which was signed in 2001.

  However, Tradition Responsibility Prosperity party founder Miroslav Kalousek said the city had overstepped its authority by engaging in activity that falls under the purview of the national government, according to the report.

  “There’s no reason why a clause about high-level international policy should be in an agreement between two cities,” Kalousek said, adding that its only possible purpose was to show timidity and submissiveness to an authoritarian regime, the report said.

  “With a partnership with Beijing where Prague recognizes Taiwan as part of China and disagrees with an independent Tibet. It is an undignified shame on Prague,” Assembly member Ondeej Mirovsky said on Facebook.

  The foreign ministry has ordered the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague to protest the incident while asking for a clarification on the issue from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as demanding that the Czech government rectify the situation.

  The ROC has always been a sovereign, independent and democratic nation since its founding in 1912, has independent diplomatic relations and is an active member in international organizations, Lin said.
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