According to Pavel’s spokeswoman, no meeting is planned between the president and the Taiwanese foreign minister. Photo credit: Freepik.
Beijing/Prague, June 9 (CTK) – Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu will visit Europe next week and address a security conference in Prague on 14 June, which will be opened by Czech President Petr Pavel, as confirmed to CTK by the conference organisers.
Pavel’s spokeswoman Marketa Rehakova told CTK that a meeting between the president and the Taiwanese foreign minister was not planned.
China today warned European countries against official contact with Taiwanese officials and against supporting “forces promoting Taiwan’s independence”, according to reports by Reuters citing Chinese diplomats.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said today that he had been informed about the visit of the Taiwanese minister next week, but said he would be in Africa at that time and therefore unable to meet him.
Lipavsky said the Czech government has a clear policy in its relations with Taiwan. “I do not expect us to deviate from it in any way,” the minister added.
Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory, has no formal diplomatic relations with any European country except the Vatican. Beijing has warned other countries not to deal with Taiwanese officials, in order to avoid giving the impression of recognizing the island’s independence.
The Czech Republic, like most countries, follows a so-called “One China” policy on Taiwan, officially recognising only mainland China.
“We urge the European side to understand the essence of the Taiwan issue, to abide by the solemn commitments made to China on the One China principle, not to support Taiwan independence forces, and not to conduct official exchanges with Taiwan under any name,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference today, according to Reuters.
“We also want to tell the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party authorities that any separatist acts and attempts to gain self-respect from foreigners are doomed to end in failure,” said Wang.
The Czech Republic has recently maintained numerous contacts with Taiwan despite Beijing’s protests. After his election in January this year, Pavel spoke on the phone with President Tsai Ing-wen, and in March, the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Marketa Pekarova Adamova (TOP 09), visited the island.
