Taiwan-Czech Republic projects under MOFA going smoothly: Diplomat

Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) Cooperation projects between Taiwan and the Czech Republic that are being overseen by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) are on schedule, a senior Taiwanese diplomat in charge of European affairs said Tuesday.

Lin Chu-en (林主恩), deputy head of MOFA's Department of European Affairs, gave the update in response to a question on the delay in a Taiwan-Czech Republic project being run by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), and said MOFA initiatives were not facing the same problem.

He said the ministry is responsible for managing four major cooperation projects with the Czech Republic from 2023 to 2027.

They are the "Czech-Taiwanese Advanced Chip Design Research Center (ACDRC)," the Business Opportunities Enhancement Program (BOEP), a research center focused on supply chain resilience and semiconductor development, and a scholarship program for Czech students specializing in semiconductor and key technology research, he said.

"All four projects are on time and on schedule," he said.

The ACDRC was opened in Taipei in June, the Czech Republic opened an investment center in Taipei in June as part of the BOEP, and 37 Czech students have engaged in short-term semiconductor training programs, MOFA said in outlining the progress made on those projects.

NSTC head Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said Monday during a legislative session that one of its projects with the Czech Republic has not proceeded as smoothly.

He said the NSTC was originally set to open a Prague office in September as part of its Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program known as the "CBI-Prague Office," but construction of the office has since been delayed.

The Czech Republic has recently completed a round of elections, and the governing administration is a coalition government, meaning that there were "different opinions" regarding cooperation with Taiwan, Wu said, without elaborating.

The Czech side is still gathering opinions on the project with Taiwan, Wu told lawmakers, and the NSTC is hoping the CBI-Prague Office can be opened by the end of this year.

Asked if the recent elections in Prague had affected Taiwan-Czech Republic cooperation as Wu said, Lin said he was not aware of any changes to bilateral cooperation projects, and bilateral relations between the two countries remained cordial despite the recent election.

The 2024 Czech regional elections were held on Sept. 20 and 21 to elect all 675 members of all 13 Czech regional councils.

Czechia's main opposition party, the right-wing populist ANO, or "Yes" movement, dominated the elections, winning in 10 out of 13 regions.

The regional elections were held together with the first round of the 2024 Czech Senate election.