Prague mayor hits out at ‘unreliable’ China, as Czech capital switches from Beijing to Taipei in twinning deal
- Zdenek Hrib explains decision to end sister city arrangement with the Chinese capital saying he would not sign deal that forced his city to ‘speak out against independence of Tibet and Taiwan’
- Mayor tells German newspaper that China is ‘full of resentment’ and is trying to sway public opinion in the Czech Republic
The mayor of Prague condemned China as an “unreliable partner” on Sunday and told a German newspaper his city will sign a twinning agreement with Taipei.
In guest commentary for the weekly paper Welt am Sonntag, Zdenek Hrib, from the Czech Pirate Party, said China was “full of resentment” and was trying to influence Czech public opinion.
The 38-year-old mayor, who has been running Prague since November 2018, sought to explain his administration’s decision to cancel a sister city agreement with Beijing in October.
The decision has soured relations between China and the Czech Republic despite President Milan Zeman’s efforts to build closer ties between the two countries.
The deal was agreed in 2016, but later torn up after Zdenek’s administration backed out of a controversial clause concerning the one-China policy.