China’s Foreign Ministry said Czech President-elect Petr Pavel crossed a red line when he spoke by phone with the Taiwanese leader.
“This action has seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs and hurt our people,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said today.
Mao’s comments came a day after Petr Pavel, the winner of the Czech presidential election on January 28, announced on Twitter that Taiwan’s leader Tsai Ing-wen had called and congratulated him. elect.
“I thank her and make sure that the island of Taiwan and the Czech Republic share the same values of freedom, democracy and human rights,” Pavel wrote. “We agreed to strengthen our partnership.” Mr. Pavel added that he hopes “to have the opportunity to meet directly with leader Tsai Ing-wen in the future”.
Taiwan’s leadership office said the phone call lasted nearly 15 minutes and involved the head of the foreign affairs agency Joseph Wu.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning at a press conference in Beijing on December 22, 2022. Photo: AFP
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Pavel’s phone call had “crossed a red line”, calling on the Czechs to “seriously abide by” its commitment to the One China principle adopted by the European Union.
China has always considered Taiwan a territory awaiting reunification and vowed to use force if necessary.
In a January 29 radio interview, Mr. Pavel said that the One China policy should be supplemented with the “two systems” principle, adding that “there is nothing wrong if we have a relationship.” relations with Taiwan”.
Pavel will replace incumbent President Milos Zeman, who has a pro-China stance, from March 9. Earlier this month, President Zeman spoke online with Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised the “friendly relationship” between the two countries.
Thanh Tam (Theo AFP)