German Media: Czech Prime Minister Refuses to Provide Special Aircraft for Speaker's Taiwan Visit

Regarding the upcoming visit of the Czech Senate Speaker to Taiwan next month, Prime Minister Babiš stated that no government aircraft would be provided, and the delegation must travel via commercial flights.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the government would not provide a state aircraft for the planned trip to Taiwan by the Senate Speaker, emphasizing a more pragmatic foreign policy to avoid damaging business relations with China.

The Czech Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil is scheduled to lead a business delegation to Taiwan in May. Prime Minister Babiš stated that the delegation must travel by commercial airlines.

Like most countries, the Czech Republic officially recognizes only Beijing’s government, not Taipei’s. However, in recent years, ties between the Czech Republic and Taiwan have grown closer.

Babiš’s populist party ANO, which came to power last December in a coalition with right-wing and far-right parties, has reversed some policy goals of the previous centrist-right government. The new government has halted budget funding to support Ukraine’s resistance against Russian aggression, refused to participate in the EU’s plan to lend money to Kyiv, and aims to strengthen trade and investment ties with China and other nations.

On Sunday, Babiš criticized Vystrčil and former Chamber of Deputies Speaker’s previous visits to Taiwan on social media, claiming these trips “damaged business relations.”

Vystrčil responded on X (formerly Twitter), stating he would comment on the matter later this week.

Babiš also said he plans to visit Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, emphasizing that foreign policy should “serve the interests of domestic businesses rather than value-based policies, which are useless and only harm national enterprises.” He added, “We will pursue a pragmatic foreign policy.”

Source: DW, Reuters

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1862997688307792/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author