TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Czech Republic should bolster its links with Taiwan, Czech Senator Pavel Fischer said on Wednesday (Oct. 16).
“It is in our interest to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between the Czech Republic and Taiwan in the areas of culture, research, and the economy,” Fischer said in a Facebook post. He said other EU and NATO member nations are doing so, which makes it more difficult for China to seize control of Taiwan.
Fischer said that even though Taiwan is on the other side of the globe, the Czech Republic cannot ignore the developments in the Taiwan Strait. “The security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific directly affect the Euro-Atlantic space, and vice versa,” he said.
The senator said that approximately one-fifth of global trade passes through the Taiwan Strait each year, and a regional conflict could severely affect that.
Fischer called on the Czech government to speak out against China’s “unacceptable behavior” at the UN, including by lodging complaints through diplomatic channels. Prague must remind Beijing that threatening others with the use of military force directly violates the UN Charter, which it accepted when taking a permanent seat on the Security Council, he said.
Fischer’s remarks follow former President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) trip to the Czech Republic from Oct. 14-16. Tsai was in Prague to attend the Forum 2000 and meet with Czech lawmakers. Fischer said the two discussed trade, economy, and education during a visit to the Senate.