The Czech Republic’s Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution that supports a possible visit by the senate president to Taiwan.
The resolution, initiated by Czech Senator Pavel Fischer, was passed with 50 votes in favor, one against and one abstention.
The resolution blasts Beijing for having its Prague embassy send a letter to former Czech Senate president Jaroslav Kubera earlier this year threatening repercussions for Czech businesses if he visited Taiwan.
Photo: Screen grab from Milos Vystrcil’s Facebook page
The resolution shows the Senate’s support for a visit to Taiwan by Senate President Milos Vystrcil, accompanied by Czech business representatives, as the visit would be in the diplomatic long-term interests of the Czech Republic, the resolution stated.
Vystrcil said he has yet to make a final decision on whether to visit Taiwan, but the more China issues threats, the more likely it is for him to visit.
Vystrcil’s predecessor, Kubera, who passed away on Jan. 20 at the age of 72, was a long-time supporter of Taiwan, and had been preparing to visit Taipei in February.
Following his death, Czech media made public the Chinese embassy’s threat toward Kubera.
Kubera’s family later said that the threat contributed to his death.
In March, Czech government officials, including Czech President Milos Zeman, Cabinet members and legislative leaders, issued a joint statement condemning China’s actions.
The statement also said that the Czech Republic intends to continue cooperating with Taiwan in the fields of economics and culture without contravening Beijing’s “one China” principle or breaking the country’s diplomatic ties with China.
Vystrcil said that his office received telephone calls from the Chinese embassy, warning him against congratulating President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her second-term inauguration on Wednesday.
In Taipei, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that the ministry would welcome a visit from a Czech politician.
Separately yesterday, Legislative Speaker Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) welcomed Vystrcil on Facebook, hoping that he would visit Taiwan after the pandemic eases.
While Zeman is considered a supporter of China, Czech Senate Vice President Miluse Horska, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and Czech Chamber of Deputies member Marek Benda, who chairs the Czech Republic-Taiwan Friendship Group, sent their congratulations to Tsai in video clips.
SECURITY CONCERNS: The Telecom Technology Center ran black-box tests for the Executive Yuan on devices and software from Chinese, US and South Korean firms Network devices from several Chinese manufacturers are insecure and allow personal information to be leaked, testing commissioned by the Executive Yuan has shown. A variety of devices and software, including apps, from Chinese, US and South Korean manufacturers that are used by government agencies at the central and local level were subjected to black-box testing — in which the functionality of an application is examined without knowing about its internal structure, an information-security official said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The Telecom Technology Center conducted the tests, which simulated cyberattacks, to determine their resilience to the attacks, the official said. The center
Americans awoke yesterday to charred and glass-strewn streets in dozens of cities after another night of unrest fueled by rage over the mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of police, who responded to the violence with tear gas and rubber bullets. Tens of thousands marched peacefully through streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on Monday last week after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing. However, many demonstrations sank into chaos as night fell: Vehicles and businesses were torched. The words “I can’t breathe” were
The nation marked its 49th day with no new domestic COVID-19 cases yesterday, and there were no new imported cases, but that does not mean the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) can relax its attention, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said yesterday in Tainan as he and a team of health officials wrapped up a weekend visit to the city. The visit is part of the center’s efforts to promote domestic travel under the “new disease prevention lifestyle.” Among the 442 confirmed cases, 423 have been released from isolation and 12 people remain hospitalized, Chen
EXTRA INVITATIONS: Russia, Australia, South Korea and India would be asked to a later summit dedicated to countering China, Donald Trump said US President Donald Trump has been forced to cancel a planned face-to-face summit of G7 leaders this month and now wants to host an expanded meeting in September dedicated to countering China to which Russian President Vladimir Putin would be invited. Trump on Saturday announced that he had canceled the June meeting, which he had billed as a symbol of the US “transitioning back to greatness,” after German Chancellor Angela Merkel told him in a telephone call that she saw the summit in Washington as a health risk. Hundreds of security staff, journalists and officials also attend the two-day summits. Reports suggest
RSS