The

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

(officially the Republic of China, shortly ROC) maintain strong unofficial relations. In the absence of official diplomatic relations, the Czech Republic is represented by the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, and Taiwan by the

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), also known as Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), Taipei Representative Office (TRO) or Taipei Mission, is an alternative diplomatic institution serving as a ''de facto'' e ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Economy

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer

Foxconn Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading as Hon Hai Technology Group in China and Taiwan and Foxconn internationally, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer established in 1974 with headquarters in Tucheng, New ...

runs its largest European operations in the Czech Republic, the company's European Union (EU) hub. The subsidiary, named Foxconn CZ, is by profit one of largest companies in the Czech Republic. In August 2020, Czech Senate President

Miloš Vystrčil Miloš Vystrčil (, born 10 August 1960) is a Czech politician serving as the President of the Senate and Senator from Jihlava district. Vystrčil previously served as Mayor of Telč and governor of Vysočina Region. Biography He was born in ...

traveled to Taiwan on an official visit to "promote business links" between the two countries.

Prague–Taipei relations

Zdeněk Hřib and Joseph Wu on 1 April 2019

Although diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and Japan was established in 1919, Taiwan was a colonial dependency of Japan. Czech architect

Antonin Raymond Antonin Raymond (or cs, Antonín Raymond), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976)"Deaths Elsewhere", ''Miami Herald'', 30 October 1976, p. 10 was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part ...

was the honorary consul for the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslo ...

in Japan from 1926 until 1939, representing the government of T. G. Masaryk. The relations were broken off during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

from 1939. During that period, there was no diplomatic consular representation in Taihoku. In August 1968, the ROC (then an internationally recognized entity of “China”) was among the ten members of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

to condemn the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

led by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, the latter of whom opposed the resolution. In 2019, Czech Republic–Taiwan relations warmed when the

city council under Mayor

Zdeněk Hřib Zdeněk Hřib (born 21 May 1981) is a Czech healthcare manager and Czech Pirate Party politician who has served as the Mayor of Prague since November 2018.

voted to cancel sister city relations with

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

due to the unwillingness of Beijing to renegotiate the inclusion of a

One-China policy The term One China may refer to one of the following: * The One China principle is the position held by the People's Republic of China (PRC) that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legit ...

clause. While respecting the policy itself, Prague deemed inappropriate to express national policy in a sister city agreement. On January 13 2020, Prague and Taipei became sister cities.

Diplomat exchanges

Jaroslav Kubera,

President of the Senate of the Czech Republic The President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic () is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and also the second-highest-ra ...

, planned a visit to Taipei prior to his death, prompting threats of retaliation from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kubera's successor,

, however, led a delegation to Taiwan that arrived in Taipei on August 31, 2020. While there, Vystrčil gave a speech, declaring "I am a Taiwanese," echoing John F. Kennedy's famous "I am a Berliner" speech. The People's Republic of China said that Vystrčil would "pay a heavy price" for visiting what it considers to be a renegade province. Meanwhile, the President of the Czech Republic said of the trip that “I consider it boyish provocation.” In late October 2021, Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu received a medal from the President of the Czech Senate Miloš Vystrčil. Ties were deepened after the election of President

Petr Pavel Petr Pavel (born 1 November 1961) is a retired Czech army general who served as the Chair of the NATO Military Committee from 2015 to 2018, and as Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army from 2012 to 2015. He is a candidate in the 2023 Cz ...

in 2023. In March a 150 member delegation headed by Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies

Markéta Pekarová Adamová Markéta Pekarová Adamová (born 2 October 1984) is a Czech politician who is the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies since 2021 and leader of TOP 09 since 2019. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Arts, Charles Universit ...

visited Taiwan. In June

Hsu Tzong-li Hsu Tzong-li (; born 10 February 1956) is a Taiwanese judge who has served as the President of the Judicial Yuan since 2016. Academic career Hsu studied at National Taiwan University and later, in 1986, obtained his PhD in law (Dr.iur.) from t ...

, the President of Taiwan's Judicial Yuan, visited the Czech Republic and met with his counterpart Pavel Rychetsky, the President of the

Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic ( cz, Ústavní soud České republiky) is a specialized type of court which primarily works to protect the people in the Czech Republic against violations of the Constitution by either the legisl ...

Health

In March 2020, the Czech Republic and Taiwan signed an official partnership to fight

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

, the first such agreement signed by Taiwan. In April 2021, Taiwan's foreign ministry thanked the Czech Republic for supporting Taiwan's bid to participate in

World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states. Th ...

. The Czech Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling for Taiwan to take part in all divisions of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

. It's the first time such a motion has progressed in a legislative chamber in the country. After the

2021 South Moravia tornado A rare, violent, and deadly long-tracked tornado struck several villages in the Hodonín and Břeclav districts of the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic in the evening of 24 June 2021, killing six people and injuring at least ...

, Taiwan donated 6.5 million

Czech koruna The koruna, or crown, (sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro currenc ...

to the affected villages. In August 2021, Taiwan received 30,000 doses of Moderna vaccine donated by Czech Republic.

References

External links

Czech Economic and Cultural OfficeTaipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Czech Republic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taiwan-Czech Republic relations