The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it welcomes Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil to visit again, as he is a close friend of Taiwan, in response to media reports that the Czech government declined to provide an aircraft for his planned visit to Taiwan this year.
Reuters on Monday reported that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the Czech government would not make a government plane available for the Senate chief’s planned trip to Taiwan, as he wants a more pragmatic foreign policy that does not threaten business ties with China.
Babis was appointed as prime minister in December last year and his Cabinet has shifted on some foreign policies, including terminating funding for Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion, as well as seeking better ties with China and other countries for trade and investment, Reuters reported.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Babis on Sunday said on social media that Vystrcil would lead a business delegation to Taipei next month, but would have to travel by a commercial airline.
He also criticized Vystrcil and the previous Lower House speaker’s past trips to Taiwan, saying that they had “destroyed business,” Reuters reported.
MOFA spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said yesterday in Taipei that “Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil is a solid friend of Taiwan, and the ministry welcomes his visit to Taiwan again.”
High-level visits between Taiwan and the Czech Republic need to be confirmed and arranged by both sides, so once the detailed schedule is solidified, the ministry would inform the public in a timely manner, he said.
In 2020, Vystrcil led a high-profile 89-member delegation to Taiwan, defying strong objections from Beijing, the first speaker of a non-allied country to address the Legislative Yuan.
During his speech to the legislature, he said “I am Taiwanese” in Mandarin to express his support for Taiwan and freedom, echoing former US president John F. Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a Berliner)” speech in West Berlin in 1963.
Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Monday posted on social media that he welcomed a delegation led by French Senate Vice President Didier Mandelli at the ministry.
He thanked France for calling for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait through a joint statement issued earlier this month, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and French President Emmanuel Macron met in Tokyo.
Lin said he told the delegation that Taiwan greatly values its cooperation with France in many fields, including artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace, energy and culture.
“As the EU launches its ‘AI Continental Action Plan’ and has plans to establish AI gigafactories, Taiwan, with its comprehensive semiconductor and AI industry chains, is poised to be an indispensable partner for France in its pursuit of ‘strategic autonomy’ and ‘reindustrialization,’” he said.
The minister expressed gratitude to Mandelli and his delegation for visiting Taiwan, as their presence highlights France’s commitment and support, and that he hopes the visit would deepen the mutual understanding between Taiwan and France and deepen the friendship between the two nations.
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