China, through its embassy, has expressed outrage over the visit of Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, who arrives in the Czech Republic on Wednesday. In the morning, he will be welcomed by the head of the upper chamber, Miloš Vystrčil (ODS), who will present him with the Silver Medal of the President of the Senate. In the afternoon, Wu will meet with Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates).
In an official statement, the Chinese Embassy in Prague “expresses its great dissatisfaction and strong disapproval of the improper contacts of some Czech institutions and officials with the authorities of Taiwan and their interference in China’s internal affairs.” Beijing has long warned other countries not to deal with Taiwanese officials to avoid giving the appearance of recognizing the island’s independence. Taiwan has operated de facto independently since 1949, with its government and democratic set-up, while China continues to consider it an inseparable part of the country.
This business trip “masquerades as a trade and investment mission, but in reality are nothing more than a pointless attempt from Taiwan to strengthen vital relations with the Czech Republic,” According to the spokesman, China will take all “necessary measures to suppress any attempts to seek Taiwan’s independence.”
Chinese diplomacy reacted even more strongly to the visit of Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu to Prague. “Joseph Wu is a typical separatist who makes such visits to advocate ‘Taiwan independence’ and create the illusion of ‘one China, one Taiwan,’ turning China and countries with which we have established diplomatic relations against each other and damaging their relations,” said Zhao Lijian, deputy head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s press department.
“I believe these strong-talk statements don’t have a place in diplomacy. The Taiwanese delegation is coming at the invitation of a private institute. The Czech government has no involvement in this because we have been advocating a one-China policy since the time of President Havel, “Kulhánek told the Czech Press Agency a few days ago. Taiwan has no official diplomatic relations with any European country except the Vatican, and many countries are unwilling to host high-ranking Taiwanese officials due to pressure from China.