Taiwan sends presidential envoy to boost Czech ties after Prague moves to scrap sister city agreement with Beijing
- Island’s deputy foreign minister, Hsu Szu-chien, meets mayor Zdenek Hrib and other politicians who refused to endorse one-China principle
The self-ruled island’s deputy foreign minister, Hsu Szu-chien, met the capital’s mayor Zdenek Hrib and other politicians on Monday and discussed the rupture with Beijing, Taiwanese foreign ministry officials said.
Hsu was representing President Tsai Ing-wen at the 23rd Forum 2000, an event to discuss democracy, human rights and civic development issues that runs from Sunday to Wednesday.
According to Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency, assembly members – including representatives from Hrib’s Pirate Party – told Hsu that they had decided to sever ties with Beijing after the Chinese capital refused to respond to a request to remove a one-China clause from a twin city agreement.
Prague signed the agreement with Beijing when President Xi Jinping visited the Czech Republic for the first time in March 2016.
It specifically states that Prague must abide by the one-China policy and accept that “Taiwan is a part of China’s indivisible territory”.