Czechs who live or have lived in Taiwan said the visit of an official delegation headed by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil reflects the strong will of the Czech people and would deepen their understanding of Taiwan.
The delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday on a six-day visit.
Karel Picha, a creative director at Be Lucky Creative Studio and proprietor of a Czech restaurant in Taipei, on Friday said the visit reflects the Czech Republic’s support for Taiwan regardless of Beijing’s objections.
The Czech Republic decided to go ahead with the visit despite China’s threats to take action against countries that pursue relationships with Taiwan, the 38-year-old said.
Lukas Vanek, a high school English teacher, said Vystrcil’s visit shows that Czechs must cherish their democracy and freedom, and not yield to those who are trying to suppress those values.
“This visit shows that enough is enough and that Czechs, at least some Czechs, are not ready to relinquish our values and our sovereignty,” Vanek said.
Tomas, a 40-year-old businessman who has lived in Taiwan for more than 16 years, said the two nations have transformed from totalitarian one-party rule to modern democratic systems that guarantee basic freedoms and equal rights for citizens.
“We both did it the ‘Velvet’ way. Today’s Taiwan is much like the Czech Republic, a relatively small country in a big, big global world,” he said.
Through cooperation between universities and student exchanges, awareness of Taiwan in the Czech Republic has been gaining momentum, and more Czechs are visiting Taiwan not just for business or to study, but also for leisure, he added.
The visit “will enable Czech people to understand who Taiwanese are, Taiwan’s historical context and vice versa. I think an official visit by Vystrcil’s delegation is a good step in that direction,” said Petr Danda, a freelance architect in Prague who studied at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology from 2015 to 2016.
Ondrej Geppert, 38, who teaches Slavic languages at National Chengchi University, said that in addition to the growing number of Western students attending Taiwanese universities, European schools are also welcoming students from Asia, although most are from China.
“Unfortunately many Western universities have adopted Chinese sources and values, backed by propaganda publications and seminars funded by the Chinese Communist Party,” Geppert said, adding that universities are and should remain platforms for free speech, alternative views and new ideas.
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