INTERVIEW/Czech Senate president calls for 'concrete results' from Taiwan ties

Taipei/Prague, Dec. 11 (CNA) In an exclusive interview with CNA, Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil said that "just visiting each other is not enough" and called for "real action" in strengthening ties between Taiwan and the Czech Republic.

"People are now expecting to see concrete results," the senior Czech politician said, "such as whether there will be investment projects in Taiwan and the Czech Republic, whether direct flights between Prague and Taipei will be more frequent, and whether exchanges between universities will be strengthened, as well as security cooperation."

In an interview recorded in Prague on Nov. 28, Vystrčil -- a former physics teacher who was re-elected President of the Czech Senate for a second term this year -- said that ties between the two countries "are getting closer and our mutual trust is growing."

"We have established friendship and trust, and now the first phase is complete. Next, we should start creating specific results so that this friendship can make material progress."

Vystrčil, accompanied by his wife, led a 35-member delegation to Taiwan in August 2020, becoming the first sitting speaker from a country that does not have official diplomatic relations with Taipei to give a speech at Taiwan's Legislature, according to a press release from the Legislative Yuan.

During his speech titled "Solidarity among democracies and protection of common values," Vystrčil echoed former U.S. President John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in 1963, telling Taiwan's highest democratic chamber "I am a Taiwanese."

"I had to go to Taiwan because this was not only important to Taiwan, but also important to us," Vystrčil told CNA, suggesting parallels between the Czech nation's struggle for democracy during the Cold War and Taiwan's on-going resistance to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) claim on Taiwan.

Vystrčil described experiencing "a lot of pressure" from Beijing not to visit Taiwan, with the Chinese Embassy in Prague and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) issuing warnings against the trip by elected Czech official.

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs also tried to dissuade him from visiting Taiwan, but the leader of the Czech Senate since 2020 was not deterred.

"Not visiting Taiwan would be tantamount to bowing down and compromising again, which is unacceptable to me," Vystrčil said, adding that he received support from other countries including the United States, France and Germany.

During the 2020 trip, Vystrčil was presented with Taiwan's Medal of Honor of Parliamentary Diplomacy by then Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃).

Vystrčil recalled being impressed by landmark building Taipei 101, which he described as "amazing engineering" that "demonstrates Taiwan's innovative spirit and the great strength of this land."

Despite lacking formal diplomatic relations, friendly interactions between Taiwan and the central European country have increased in recent years.

Czech and Taiwanese politicians visit each other's countries frequently, and most recently a cross-party Czech parliamentary delegation met President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and other senior Taiwanese officials during a four-day visit to Taiwan last month.

Vystrčil indicated an interest in visiting Taiwan again, though "no specific date" has been set, he said.

However, he also emphasized the importance of taking concrete action to strengthen ties, suggesting that business, education, science and medicine are key areas for Taiwan-Czech cooperation.

"We have to start building something together because just visiting each other is not enough," Vystrčil said.