Beijing Angered Over Prague-Taiwan Presidential Phone Call

Czech Republic’s president-elect Petr Pavel has been in phone contact with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen, a highly uncommon diplomatic breakthrough given the lack of formal relations between the two states. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had said earlier in the week that it was in touch with Pavel’s government regarding this call. Despite this, China failed to dissuade the Czech president, resulting in condemnation from Beijing. Yet, the Czech Republic maintains that as a sovereign country, it could make its own decisions regarding its contacts and communication.

According to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning Mao, “Czech President-elect Pavel ignored China’s repeated attempts to dissuade him and our repeated representations” and “he has persisted in stepping on China’s red line, seriously interfering in China’s domestic affairs and hurting the feelings of the Chinese people.” The event is reminiscent of former US president Donald Trump’s phone call with Tsai Ing-Wen in 2016, which was followed by similar protestation from Beijing.

To this day, China maintains that Taiwan is a province and part of the People’s Republic of China. Meanwhile, the Taiwanese government claims the right to independence by arguing that the PROC never occupied the island, and has no say, especially on a global scale, in deciding Taiwan’s future. The heated debate has persisted for decades, with most countries electing to abide by the “One-China” Principle in order to avoid conflict with the world’s second-biggest economy. Even president-elect Pavel had expressed in his election campaign that the policy should be respected.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala added that “Czechia respects and holds its own one-China policy,” but “as a sovereign country we decide ourselves who we have calls with and with whom we will meet.” Pavel’s move proves to differ vastly from his predecessor Milos Zeman, who spent a decade building relations with the PROC. The president-elect’s center-right party has sought to develop relations with Taiwan, a primary business partner, since his election just mere days ago. Mao warns of  “irreparable damage” to China-Czech ties – a sign that Beijing could be planning retaliation. History has proven China to be stern in its assertion of its One-China policy. Just last year, China downgraded diplomatic ties with Lithuania, sanctioned a Lithuanian deputy minister, and pressured multinationals to sever links after it allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius. US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022 also sparked economic sanctions, global alarm, and expanded military presence in the Taiwan Strait.

The fine line between the preservation of democracy in Taiwan and the prevention of violent conflicts, such as military invasion, is very thin. This is why Taiwan-China relations have remained at a standstill, maintaining the “status quo”, for decades now. If there is violence and human rights violation no matter what resolution is pursued, perhaps the best resolution is simply to maintain the status quo for the sake of peace. Yet, continued diplomatic and non-triggering communication must still be maintained in a delicate situation as such, so as to one day carve a road to de-escalation.

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