TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Hong Kong activist posted a letter on Saturday (Sept. 5) thanking the mayor of a Prague district for his scathing letter calling the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) "rude clowns" for issuing threats to Czech leaders who visited Taiwan.
In response to a visit by Czech Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil and his 89-member delegation to Taiwan last week, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) on Aug. 31 said, “The Chinese government and Chinese people won’t take a laissez-faire attitude or sit idly by, and will make him (Vystrcil) pay a heavy price for his short-sighted behavior and political opportunism."
That same day, the Mayor of Prague district Reporyje, Pavel Novotny, on his Facebook page posted a photo of a scathing letter he addressed directly to Wang in response to his threat. In the letter, Novotny condemns Wang for having "crossed the lines" of diplomatic norms.
He then chastised the foreign ministry for threatening the Czech senate speaker in such a way and behaving like "unmannered rude clowns."
The letter resonated with many people around the world fed up with China's bullying, debt-trap diplomacy, and "wolf warrior diplomats," as the post rapidly went viral. The post currently has over 20,000 likes, 2,400 shares, and 1,800 comments, many of which are from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
On Saturday, a former member of Studentlocalism, Honcques Laus (劉康), posted a letter to support Novotny and his harsh rebuke of the CCP. In the caption above the letter, he explained that it has been 37 days since Hong Kong police issued an arrest warrant for him for allegedly violating the new draconian National Security Law (NSL).
Laus wrote that Wang was so embarrassed by the Czech delegation's visit, that he shamelessly threatened Vystrcil by saying he would pay a "heavy price." He then praised Novotny for bravely condemning Wang in an official letter and in doing so defending the freedom of the Czech Republic.
In the letter, Laus thanked Novotny for having "courageously defended freedom against China's threat." Borrowing from Novotny's "rude clowns" comment, Laus then wrote that Wang's threat made it obvious that Beijing "rudely interfered in European affairs."
He then focused on the new NSL, which he described as oppressing Hong Kong's civil liberties and "offended every country, including the Czech Republic." He pointed out the law could even affect Czech citizens as it applies to anyone who is "courageous" enough to criticize the regime in Beijing.
The activist then observed that even in kindergarten, children are taught to be "polite and respectful of others." Yet, the government of China "still appears to be uneducated and uncivilized," lamented Laus.
Laus then called on the leaders of Reporyje to make Beijing pay the "price for oppression" by restricting China's trade with the district. He then suggested the Prague district could restrict trade with China.
