Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Pardubice Region yesterday, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the Czech Republic adheres to the “one China” policy, but this does not preclude cooperation with Taiwan in a pragmatic manner.
According to Pavel, the current government’s talk about a pragmatic foreign policy should take a pragmatic view of relations with Taiwan as well. He mentioned, for example, the number of jobs created thanks to investment, technology sharing, and other economic benefits. He said this suggested that cooperation with Taiwan could be more beneficial for the Czech Republic than the current cooperation with China.
Pavel also stressed that this does not preclude maintaining correct relations with China. However, he said, the Czech Republic is a sovereign state and should not allow anyone to dictate with whom it may or may not cooperate. He added that the Czech Republic does not wish to infringe upon or question Chinese sovereignty, and also stands by its cooperation with Taiwan.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) refused to grant Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil (ODS) the use of a government plane to fly to Taiwan, which the PM described as a “million-crown excursion”. He justified the refusal citing the Czech Republic’s economic interests in mainland China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has repeatedly criticised the Czech Senate’s activities in support of Taiwan in the past.
The Senate delegation led by Vystrcil will instead fly to Taiwan on a commercial flight from Prague to Taipei, which began operating three years ago thanks to Vystrcil’s efforts. He described the government’s decision as a betrayal and “a stab in the back” to the businesspeople and representatives of science, research and culture who were supposed to undertake the mission alongside the senators, and whose participation is now uncertain. Vystrcil plans to make the trip to Taiwan in late May or early June.
The Senate speaker took issue with Babis’s statement that his government would pursue a pragmatic foreign policy rather than a values-based one, which had yielded “virtually nothing”. According to Vystrcil, “it is utter nonsense to pursue a pragmatic policy without it being values-based.”
Taiwan has functioned de facto independently since 1949, with its own government and democratic system, while China continues to operate under a one-party regime. Like most countries in the world, the Czech Republic adheres to the one-China policy and officially recognises only Mainland China.
