The Czech government is considering listing a military attache at the Chinese embassy in Prague as persona non grata after reports that they allegedly followed vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to the Central European country last month.
European Values Center for Security Policy director Jakub Janda on Friday cited Czech-language Web site Seznam Zpravy as reporting that a Chinese diplomat had been stopped by police while following Hsiao’s motorcade as it entered Prague from the airport.
The Czech Police Protective Service provided security for Hsiao, who was visiting at the invitation of Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, the report said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Police stopped a car tailing Hsiao’s motorcade when it ran a red light, and upon inspection, they discovered that the driver was “a Chinese diplomat from the military section of the Chinese embassy in Prague,” it said, adding that the surveillance of Hsiao “continued to her hotel in Prague.”
Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavsky spoke with Chinese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Feng Biao (馮?) about the incident and “does not consider the issue to be closed,” the report said.
Citing Czech government sources, it said that Prague is considering listing the individual as persona non grata.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that while in Europe, Hsiao had also met with Czech Chamber of Deputies Deputy Speaker Jan Bartosek, Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, Polish Senate Deputy Marshal Michal Kaminski, and lawmakers from Estonia and Latvia.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) yesterday said the alleged following of Hsiao was shameful conduct for a major world power.
The act underscored that Beijing is not only unwilling to play by established international rules, it disrespects the sovereignty of other nations, Wang said.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said it was not a small issue and likely not an isolated incident, urging other democratic countries to condemn Beijing’s actions.
Hsiao’s low-profile visit to Europe contrasted with the attention-grabbing tailing of the incoming vice president by China, and underscores Beijing’s efforts to stop at nothing to undermine Taipei’s efforts to broaden its international relations, she said.
DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) called Beijing’s actions deplorable, adding that the incident calls attention to China’s abuse of diplomatic immunity to conduct acts of espionage.
Taiwan should work with the international community to implement measures that would prevent China’s rampant interventionism and illegal tailing of individuals overseas, he said.
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
UNITED: The premier said Trump’s tariff comments provided a great opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together to maintain the nation’s chip advantage The government is considering ways to assist the nation’s semiconductor industry or hosting collaborative projects with the private sector after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Trump on Monday told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals “in the very near future.” “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before,” Trump said at the Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida. “They
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Taiwan must capitalize on the shock waves DeepSeek has sent through US markets to show it is a tech partner of Washington, a researcher said China’s reported breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI) would prompt the US to seek a stronger alliance with Taiwan and Japan to secure its technological superiority, a Taiwanese researcher said yesterday. The launch of low-cost AI model DeepSeek (深度求索) on Monday sent US tech stocks tumbling, with chipmaker Nvidia Corp losing 16 percent of its value and the NASDAQ falling 612.46 points, or 3.07 percent, to close at 19,341.84 points. On the same day, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Sector index dropped 488.7 points, or 9.15 percent, to close at 4,853.24 points. The launch of the Chinese chatbot proves that a competitor can
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
RSS