Anger as Chinese Foreign Minister Threatens Czech Senate President: Scholar Says Czechs Are “Standing up to CCP’s Hooliganism”

China’s foreign minister Huang Yi said earlier that Miloš Vystrčil, the Czech senate president who visited Taiwan, will “pay a heavy price”. Noting such rare strong responses from the Czechs as summoning the Chinese ambassador, Czech scholar Filip Jirous said China had crossed the line and the Czechs are “standing up to CCP’s hooliganism”. Whether the Czechs’ relations with China will worsen depends on what China is up to and its next step.

In an interview with a Czech media organization on 31 August, Vystrčil criticized Huang for meddling with the Czech Republic’s internal affairs and said his comments were regrettable. Vystrčil stressed that the Czech Republic is a sovereign nation committed to developing good relations other countries. In leading a delegation to Taiwan, he aimed to foster cooperation between the two democracies and create good conditions for the Czech economy to grow. Vystrčil said also that Huang’s comments reminded him of the threatening letter sent to his late predecessor Jaroslav Kubera.

Kubera was scheduled to visit Taiwan in February, only to die a sudden death before the trip. In Vystrčil’s speech at National Chengchi University on the afternoon of 31 August, he mentioned that Kubera was planning on a visit to Taiwan but was pressured to call it off by the Chinese embassy and top-level Czech officials.

The pro-Beijing Czech president Miloš Zeman is strongly opposed to Kubera’s and Vystrčil’s visits to Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Czech foreign ministry summoned the China ambassador Zhang Jianwen on 31 August to protest against China’s unusually strong comment.

Source: Apple Daily #Sep01

#Czech #Taiwan #China #Vystrcil #Kubera #Zeman #Diplomacy

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'Drills show China is threat to whole region'

The last two days of mainland aircraft approaching Taiwan demonstrate that Beijing is a threat to the entire region and have shown the people of Taiwan even more clearly the true nature of China’s government, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Sunday.Multiple mainland aircraft flew across the mid line of the Taiwan Strait and into Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Friday and Saturday, causing Taiwan to scramble jets to intercept.At a news conference in the capital on Friday about China's UN peacekeeping efforts, Beijing announced combat drills near the Taiwan Strait and denounced what it called collusion between the island and the United States.The exercises took place as US Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Keith Krach was in Taipei, the most senior State Department office to come in four decades.Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Tsai denounced the drills."I believe these activities are no help to China's international image, and what's more have put Taiwan's people even more on their guard, understanding even better the true nature of the Chinese Communist regime," she said."Additionally, other countries in the region also have a better understanding of the threat posed by China," Tsai added. "The Chinese Communists must restrain themselves, and not provoke."China's air force on Saturday put out a video showing its nuclear capable H-6 bombers, which have been involved in many fly-bys of Taiwan, exercising.One montage shows a simulation of an H-6 attack against an air base which appears by its runway layout to be the main US air force base on Guam.Asked about that footage, and China's decision to release it while Krach was in Taiwan, Tsai said China's recent activities where a threat broader than just to Taiwan. "China's existence is indeed aggressive and will bring a definite threat." (Reuters)

2020-09-20 15:53:33