Following the recent election in the Czech Republic which booted the communists out of Parliament, the Czech Senate passed a resolution supporting cooperation with Taiwan, including inviting Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu to Prague. Experts suggest that Wu’s visit to the Czech Republic is of great significance in deepening Taiwan-Czech relations, dealing a heavy blow to Beijing.
Czech Senate President Vows Support for Taiwan
Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil pledged support for Taiwan’s democracy before his planned meeting with Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu.
On Oct. 13, the Czech Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security passed a resolution supporting cooperation with Taiwan on innovation, trade, and investment including inviting Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu to a forum in Prague on Oct. 27 and 28.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu speaks at Globsec forum in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Oct. 26, 2021. (Vladimir Simicek/AFP via Getty Images)
During the forum, Wu called on democratic countries to unite against authoritarianism.
“The pursuit of freedom and democracy has always been the most important reason that our two countries are closely connected,” Wu said.
“Our democratic accomplishments … need to be underpinned by determination and principles. This is especially true in times when authoritarianism continuously seeks to undermine the values and institutions that we all cherish,” Wu added. “We need to work with and support each other. United we stand, divided we fall.”
From Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 last year, Vystrcil led a delegation of 89 people, including senators and businesspeople, to Taiwan for meetings with the top echelons of Taiwanese politics. His action was met with fierce vitriol from the Chinese leadership.
Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil (L) is greeted by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (R) upon his arrival at the airport in Taoyuan, on Aug. 30, 2020. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)
Experts: Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Visiting Czech Republic is of Great Significance
In an interview with The Epoch Times, senior political and economic commentator Lin Baohua and Taiwan’s National Policy Research Foundation researcher and military expert Li Zhengxiu suggested that the Taiwanese foreign minister’s recent invitation to visit the Czech Republic is a significant move for Prague. It will not only deepen Taiwan–Czech relations but will also deal a heavy blow to the CCP.
“Although Taiwan’s foreign minister has visited the United States before, the visit was unofficial and secretive. This time, the public invitation from the Czech Republic is almost the same as officially recognizing Taiwan,” Lin said.
“Inviting Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Minister is of great significance to the international community. It has far-reaching effects on both the CCP–Czech and the Taiwan–Czech relationships. Taiwan–Czech relations will undoubtedly deepen, and for the CCP, it is undoubtedly a diplomatic setback,” Li said.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu delivers his speech after he received the Silver Commemorative Medal of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic from President of Czech Senate Milos Vystrcil (unseen), in Prague, on Oct. 27, 2021. (Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)
Both experts said that because the Czech people were once under the rule of communists, they understand the evil of communism and therefore have a strong aversion to the KSCM. Similarly, Taiwan has a long history of being bullied and threatened by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Chinese Nationalist Party, which has a pro-China stance, lost by a large margin in Taiwan’s past two presidential elections. From this perspective, Taiwan and the Czech Republic have a common language and can communicate in terms of universal values.
From an economic standpoint, the Czech Republic is one of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe where Taiwan has large investments as well as close economic and trade relations. As a result, many industries in the Czech Republic are relatively developed compared to neighboring countries. At the same time, the neighboring countries hope to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan with the intent of developing their economies, according to the two experts.
From Vystrcil’s visit to Taiwan last year to the Czech Republic’s plan to establish its first Asia think tank in Taiwan this year, the Czech Republic appears to be attaching great importance to the development of relations with Taiwan, according to Li.
In response to the CCP’s infiltration, the Czech think tank “European Values Center” (EVC) signed a partnership agreement with Taiwan in April this year. According to a press release from the organization, it is slated to open an office in Taiwan in the second half of this year and will be the first in Taipei to be run by a private European think tank.
Lin said that he has always had great expectations for the development of Taiwan–Czech relations. He also hopes that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait—China and Taiwan—can stay divided on peaceful terms just like the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, judging by the CCP’s continued assertive actions, this seems impossible under the current condition.
Li believes that the CCP’s “wolf warrior diplomacy” prompted the Czech Republic and Taiwan to become closer. Initially, the Czech Republic welcomed the “One-China Policy” under its previous administrations, but the CCP’s assertiveness repelled the nation and many others. In his view, the CCP’s “One-China Policy” has begun to waver. If the CCP continues with this forceful style of diplomacy, its diplomatic relations with other countries will only worsen.
New Czech Conservative Group Upsets Election
On Oct. 9, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), for the first time since the formation of the Czech Republic in 1993, failed to retain enough seats to enter the Czech Parliament, taking 3.62 percent of the vote, which failed to meet the 5 percent mark needed to remain in both parliamentary chambers.
In a stunning upset, Czech’s center-right opposition group, the SPOLU (Together) alliance—a three-party coalition—won 27.8 percent of the votes, beating incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ ANO Party, which captured 27.1 percent. The SPOLU alliance formed a new government with its allies, the Pirates and Mayors —a two-party coalition—to achieve a combined majority of 108 seats.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis speaks to the media after his ANO political movement lost parliamentary elections, in Prague, on Oct. 9, 2021. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The communists maintained a close relationship with Czech’s current President, Milos Zeman, who is known to be pro-communist and has close ties with China. The president had openly voiced support for Babis—who is a known ally of Zeman— before the general election.
Events Following the Election
On the night of the election, the five political leaders from the SPOLU alliance and the Pirates and Mayors (PIR/STAN) coalition signed a “memorandum of understanding,” with the aim to replace Babis with a new prime minister proposed by the two alliances.
The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic in which the president is the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. Czech Parliament is bicameral; the upper house of the Parliament is the Senate, the lower house of the Parliament is the Chamber of Deputies.
According to the Czech Republic’s constitution, the prime minister is nominated by the party that has won the majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and then appointed by the president. The prime minister nominates the cabinet. The new cabinet members must pass the vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies within one month.
Zeman said before the general election that he would vote for Prime Minister Babis and declared that the single party with the most votes would be appointed to form the cabinet. If the two opposition coalitions insist on refusing to cooperate with Babis, he is unlikely to remain in power.
Doctors Declare Czech President Zeman Unfit
Czech President Milos Zeman gives a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart in Vienna on June 10, 2021. (Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP via Getty Images)
Zeman was rushed to the hospital on Oct. 10 following the latest election results. Director Miroslav Zavoral of the Central Military Hospital in Prague said Zeman, 77, was admitted due to complications related to an undisclosed chronic condition.
On Oct. 18, Vystrcil released a report by Prague’s Military University Hospital on Zeman’s health status. The report, signed by the hospital director and the president’s chief physician, General Miroslav Zavoral, indicated the head of state is currently unfit to serve.
Director of the Central Military Hospital Miroslav Zavoral speaks to the media in Prague, on Oct. 10, 2021. (Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)
“Milos Zeman, president of the republic, is currently unable to fulfill the duties of his office,” Vystrcil said at a press conference. Referring to the medical report, Vystrcil added: “Prague Military University Hospital cannot issue a reliable long-term prognosis on the health status of President Milos Zeman. Given the kind of physical ailment, a return to office in the coming weeks, therefore, appears highly unlikely.”
The Czech Republic’s constitution states that if the president’s office is vacant or he is unable to perform his duties, the president of the Chamber of Deputies will have the power to appoint the prime minister.
If the president cannot perform his duties, both chambers of Parliament can remove him from office. And the newly elected president of the Chamber of Deputies (Lower House) will decide the new prime minister.
A Brief History of the Czech Republic
From the communist coup d’état in February 1948 to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Czechoslovakia was ruled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. During the era of Communist Party rule, thousands of Czechoslovakians faced political persecution, and some were even tortured to death.
The Velvet Revolution was a non-violent transition of power taking place from Nov. 17 to Dec. 29, 1989. Massive demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia led by students and dissidents resulted in the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia and the subsequent conversion to a parliamentary republic.
On Jan. 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia was peacefully divided into two independent states: Czech and Slovak Republics.
While the communists largely faded into the background after 1989, they still cooperated with other parties seeking votes to pass legislation in Parliament. They also worked to appeal to senior citizens and working-class members of the republic but failed to resonate with younger voters, given their previous totalitarian rule.
Joyce Liang contributed to this report.
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