Beijing issued a warning to the newly elected president of the Czech Republic after his telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday.
Petr Pavel, who won the presidential election on Sunday, promised to meet Tsai “personally in the future”, which set the stage for an unprecedented case between the heads of state of one of the EU countries and Taiwan, which China claims its territory.
“Despite repeated entreaties from China and procedures“Czech President-elect Petr Pavel continued his telephone conversation with Tsai Ing-wen, which constitutes official contact with the Taiwan authorities and serious interference in China’s internal affairs,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. This was announced at a press conference in the ministry.
“China regrets this and strongly opposes it, and we solemnly Steps The Czech side,” Mao said. “We call on the Czech Republic to take immediate and effective action to correct the violations, address the negative consequences of this incident, and firmly uphold the One China Principle.”
Under the One China principle, the People’s Republic of China regards Taiwan as part of China and China as the sole legitimate government of that unified state.
According to the AFP news agency, Mao added that Pavel “broke China’s red line” and “insulted the feelings of the Chinese people.”
This was stated by the head of the European Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Lutong. tweet that he was “shocked” by Paul’s call with the Taiwanese president.
Monday’s 15-minute phone call marks a departure from EU norms that would limit official contact with Taiwan to the level of civil servants or deputy ministers.
It’s also a break with incumbent Czech President Milos Zeman, whose 10-year tenure as Czech president has closely aligned with Beijing’s own stance on politics and human rights.
