Czech Senate President Vetteri returned to the Czech Republic after a visit to Taiwan, but also faced accusations from the president and prime minister that he was trying to quell the Chinese threat. However, Mr. Vittičić insisted that the visit to Taiwan did not violate national policy and firmly believes that the Czech Republic should never take orders from big brother China or any undemocratic regime.
Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, who was threatened by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, ended his visit to Taiwan and returned to the Czech Republic. In an attempt to appease the Chinese authorities, Czech President Miloš Zeman on September 6 criticized Vystrčil’s visit to Taiwan as a “boyish provocation” that would hit Czech businesses.
He also stated that he would no longer invite him to meetings of the country’s top foreign policy officials, but that he believed that the Chinese government’s statements regarding his visit were exaggerated, and that his policy toward China would not change.
I strongly believe that visiting Taiwan is not against our national policy, but I also strongly believe that we must not succumb to Big Brother,” Vitterzi responded. “
The question is, is an independent Czech Republic obligated to accept the Communist Party’s instructions as to who should be a business partner? If there are people in Czechoslovakia who establish long-term, close business ties with, or even support, non-democratic countries, such countries serve no purpose other than to addict Czechoslovakia. He reiterated that the Czech Republic should not be at the beck and call of Big Brother or any undemocratic regime, while stressing that the visit to Taiwan did not contradict Czech policy toward China.
Vitezi also refuted President Zeman’s “three lies”: first, that there was no meeting of foreign policy officials before he decided to visit Taiwan; second, that Zeman never forbade him to visit Taiwan but only “advised” him not to do so; and finally, regarding Zeman’s claim that he publicly called Taiwan an “independent country,” that he did not call Taiwan an “independent country” during his visit to Taiwan. As an independent state, he has already said in Taiwan that he will not interfere with the issue of unification and independence, which is a matter for the Czech government.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also disagreed with the visit, criticizing Petrovich’s Taiwan trip for mixing politics and business, violating the one-China principle, and not appreciating Petrovich’s claim to be able to straighten the Czech Republic’s back; Babiš said that because of Petrovich, the Czech Republic is now waiting for a reaction from China. The Czech Republic is now waiting for China’s reaction because of Vittorio Vittorio, said Babis.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on 7 July, “China appreciates that President Zeman has always been committed to promoting friendship and cooperation between China and Czechoslovakia and sticks to a correct position on major and sensitive issues involving China. “
Filip Jirous, a researcher specializing in China’s influence in the Czech Republic, notes that Vitezzi’s visit to Taiwan symbolizes a setback for Beijing’s charm in Central Europe, reports Le Monde. The Chinese issued a strong warning, but it turned out to be a unanimous endorsement of Vittić’s Taiwan visit in the Czech Republic, a rare reaction in Czech diplomacy. He sees this as a reflection of the Czech elite’s disillusionment with Beijing’s commitment, and in particular, Zeman’s turn of events as symbolic. Against the backdrop of his disappointment with the level of Chinese investment in the Czech Republic in January, and the death of the former speaker of parliament, which has put civil society on high alert for attempts to influence China, Beijing’s provocative rhetoric has only served to unify Czech public opinion.
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