Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil said that “just visiting each other is not enough” and called for “real action” in strengthening ties between Taiwan and the Czech Republic.
“People are now expecting to see concrete results, such as whether there will be investment projects in Taiwan and the Czech Republic, whether direct flights between Prague and Taipei will be more frequent, and whether exchanges between universities will be strengthened, as well as security cooperation,” Vystrcil said in an interview with the Central News Agency in Prague on Nov. 28.
Vystrcil, a former physics teacher who was re-elected as president of the Czech Senate for a second term this year, said that ties between the two countries “are getting closer and our mutual trust is growing.”
Photo: CNA
“We have established friendship and trust, and now the first phase is complete. Next, we should start creating specific results so that this friendship can make material progress,” he said.
Vystrcil led a 35-member delegation to Taiwan in August 2020, becoming the first sitting speaker from a country that does not have official diplomatic relations with Taipei to give a speech at Taiwan’s legislature.
“I had to go to Taiwan because this was not only important to Taiwan, but also important to us,” Vystrcil said, suggesting parallels between the Czech nation’s struggle for democracy during the Cold War and Taiwan’s ongoing resistance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Vystrcil described experiencing “a lot of pressure” from Beijing not to visit Taiwan, with the Chinese embassy in Prague issuing warnings against the trip.
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs also tried to dissuade him from visiting Taiwan, but Vystrcil was not deterred.
“Not visiting Taiwan would be tantamount to bowing down and compromising again, which is unacceptable to me,” he said, adding that he received support from other countries, including the US, France and Germany.
Vystrcil recalled being impressed by landmark building Taipei 101, which he described as “amazing engineering” that “demonstrates Taiwan’s innovative spirit and the great strength of this land.”
Despite lacking formal diplomatic relations, friendly interactions between Taiwan and the central European country have increased in recent years.
Czech and Taiwanese politicians visit each other’s countries frequently. Most recently, a cross-party Czech parliamentary delegation met with President William Lai (賴清德) and other senior Taiwanese officials during a four-day visit to Taiwan last month.
Vystrcil emphasized the importance of taking concrete action to strengthen ties, suggesting that business, education, science and medicine are key areas for Taiwan-Czech cooperation.
“We have to start building something together because just visiting each other is not enough,” Vystrcil said.
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