Czechia Committed To One-China Policy But Has Right To Decide Whom To Call- Prime Minister

Faizan Hashmi Published January 31, 2023 | 08:23 PM

The Czech Republic adheres to the one-China policy and makes its own decisions on "who to call and with whom to meet," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Tuesday

PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st January, 2023) The Czech Republic adheres to the one-China policy and makes its own decisions on "who to call and with whom to meet," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Czech President-elect Petr Pavel had a telephone conversation with the Taiwanese leader, Tsai Ing-wen, who congratulated him on winning the election, and affirmed that both countries share the values of freedom, democracy and human rights. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, which considers Taiwan to be its own territory, expressed a protest to Prague over Pavel's conversation with Tsai and called on Czechia to respect the one-China principle.

"The Czech Republic's policy towards China remains unchanged and in line with the policy of our allies. The Czech Republic respects and adheres to its own one-China policy.

As a sovereign state, we ourselves decide who to call and with whom to meet. At the same time, it is also necessary to bear in mind that China is our major Asian trading partner," Fiala said in an interview with the Czech news Agency.

The prime minister added that the Czech Republic has traditionally had good relations with Taiwan in the fields of economics, education and science.

"We continue our tradition by pointing out the need to protect shared democratic values," Fiala said.

Taiwan and China have been at odds since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing has insisted that other countries should respect the one-China principle after a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei in August 2022 launched a trend of political pilgrimage to Taiwan.