PRAGUE/TAIPEI — Taiwan’s Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim stated she won’t be intimidated by China after Czech army intelligence stated Chinese language diplomats and secret service adopted Hsiao and deliberate to intimidate her bodily when she visited Prague final 12 months.
Hsiao visited the Czech Republic in March 2024. Prague doesn’t have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan however has fostered heat relations with the democratically-governed island, which China views as its personal territory regardless of Taiwan’s rejection.
Czech media reported final 12 months {that a} Chinese language diplomat had run a crimson gentle when following her automotive. Czech public radio information web site irozhlas.cz stated on Thursday that the Chinese language had additionally deliberate to stage a demonstrative automotive crash.
“I had a terrific go to to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for his or her hospitality & making certain my security. The CCP’s illegal actions will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan’s pursuits within the worldwide group,” Hsiao wrote in a put up on X social media platform on Saturday, referring to the Chinese language Communist Occasion. Her put up was linked to the Reuters report on the incident.
In a separate put up on X, Hsiao thanked world parliamentarians who’ve expressed solidarity towards “violence and coercion.”
“Taiwan won’t be remoted by intimidation,” Hsiao wrote.
Czech Navy Intelligence spokesman stated Chinese language diplomats in Prague had taken actions that violated diplomatic guidelines.
“This consisted of bodily following the vice-president, gathering data on her schedule and makes an attempt to doc her conferences with vital representatives of the Czech political and public scene,” spokesman Jan Pejsek stated in emailed feedback to Reuters.
“We even recorded an try by the Chinese language civil secret service to create situations to carry out a demonstrative kinetic motion towards a protected particular person, which nevertheless didn’t transcend the section of preparation.”
A spokesperson for China’s international ministry, commenting on the matter, denied any wrongdoing by Chinese language diplomats and in addition stated the Czech Republic had interfered in China’s inner affairs by permitting Hsiao’s go to to go forward.
The Czech Overseas Ministry stated it had summoned the Chinese language ambassador over the incident on the time however didn’t remark additional on Friday.
“That is the CCP’s criminality on show for the entire world to see. This is not diplomacy, it is coercion,” the US Home of Representatives Overseas Affairs Committee wrote on X.
Taiwan protests
Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council stated the Chinese language actions “significantly threatened the non-public security of Vice President Hsiao and her entourage”.
“The Mainland Affairs Council immediately protested and strongly condemned the Chinese language communist’s unhealthy conduct and demanded that the Chinese language aspect ought to instantly clarify and publicly apologize,” it stated.
A senior Taiwan safety official briefed on the matter advised Reuters the incident was an instance of “transnational repression” by China that the European Union is presently paying shut consideration to.
“It is a drawback that everybody ought to take note of,” the official requesting anonymity stated, including many authorities officers around the globe have been threatened by China upon visits made by Taiwanese officers or politicians to their nations.
In Beijing, international ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated: “Chinese language diplomats have at all times abided by the legal guidelines and laws of the nations by which they’re stationed.”
“China urges the events involved to not be provoked and exploited by separatist forces for Taiwan independence, and to not make a fuss over nothing, have interaction in malicious hypothesis, and intrude with and undermine the relations between the 2 nations.”
Hsiao assumed workplace, together with President Lai Ching-te, on Could 20 final 12 months.
Czech relations with China have cooled lately. The Czechs accused China in Could of being behind a cyberattack on the international ministry.
Czech politicians have visited Taiwan and former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited Prague final October.
China views individually ruled Taiwan as its personal territory and has ramped up its army and political stress lately. Taiwan says solely its folks can resolve their future and vows to defend its freedom and democracy. — Reuters