A delegation headed by the Senate president and the mayor of Prague won hearts in Taiwan and shrugged off threats from China’s foreign minister.

The Diplomat
Date: September 05, 2020
By: Nick Aspinwall

A delegation from Czechia concluded a visit to Taiwan on Friday and vowed to overcome threats

by China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, who said this week Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil would pay a “heavy price” for his visit to the country.

In a speech to Taiwanese lawmakers on Tuesday, Vystrcil channeled U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 visit to Berlin in saying “I am Taiwanese,” prompting Wang to say the Senate president had “crossed a red line” by visiting Taiwan and challenging Beijing’s “one China policy.”

Kennedy, Vystrcil said, had “used the phrase ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ to show his support for the people of Berlin and the highest values of freedom.”

“Maybe I can be more humble, but allow me to use the same determined phrase to conclude my speech in your country’s parliament, in Taiwan: I am Taiwanese,” he said, delivering the final phrase in Mandarin.    [FULL  STORY]