The Czech Republic and Taiwan signed a memorandum of cooperation to strengthen ties between the two countries. Photo Credit: Freepik
Taipei, Sept 23 (CTK) – Representatives of the Czech Republic and Taiwan signed a memorandum of cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture at the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry today, as reported by Radio Taiwan.
A delegation of Czech senators and ministerial officials, headed by the chairman of the Senate education committee, former presidential candidate Jiri Drahos, is currently visiting Taiwan.
Radio Taiwan International said the documents were signed by Drahos for the Czech side and for the Taiwanese by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yui.
Drahos said the agreements would help intensify cooperation between the two countries, becoming a milestone of bilateral relations. Yui agreed that the memorandum will bring Taiwanese-Czech relations to a new level.
The visit of the Czech delegation was also reported on the portal Taiwan News, which described Drahos’s meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen and his call for direct flights between Taipei and Prague. According to Taiwan News, Drahos said if direct flights were introduced, more Taiwanese tourists could visit the Czech Republic. Before the COVID outbreak, some 200,000 Taiwanese were visiting the Czech Republic every year.
Drahos also thanked Taiwan for helping the Czech Republic in founding a development centre for research into semiconductors.
During the visit, the two countries’ national museums signed an agreement to become sister institutions.
The trip to Taiwan is frowned upon by mainland China. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said on Thursday that China was opposed to any form of official contact between Taiwan and countries maintaining diplomatic relations with China. He called on Czech politicians to observe the principle of one China.
The Chinese embassy in Prague said on 17 September that the visit by Czech senators and ministry officials to Taiwan undermines the political foundations of cooperation between the Czech Republic and China, as it indicates obvious support for separatist forces and activities linked with Taiwan’s independence.
