June 13, 2024
No. 204
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a welcome banquet on June 12 for a Czech delegation led by First Vice President of the Senate Jiří Drahoš. Minister Lin expressed appreciation to the members of the delegation for supporting Taiwan and steadily deepening relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic.
Minister Lin thanked First Vice President Drahoš for his long-standing support of Taiwan and for facilitating the signing of memorandums of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in education, science, culture, and other areas during a visit to Taiwan in 2022 while serving as chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights, and Petitions. Minister Lin welcomed his current visit as Senate first vice president and head of a delegation comprising key officials from the Ministry of Science, Research, and Innovation and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as well as experts and academics in science and education. He noted that their visit had begun a new chapter in bilateral cooperation in such areas as education, science, semiconductors, resilient supply chains, culture, and the arts.
Recognizing the Czech Republic as one of Taiwan’s staunchest partners in Europe, Minister Lin affirmed that the shared values of democracy and freedom had brought the two countries closer together, enabling them to offer mutual assistance during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic and following the earthquake in Hualien. Minister Lin was particularly grateful that, on multiple occasions, the Czech government had publicly endorsed Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the World Health Organization and other global bodies, expressed concern over peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and condemned China for escalating regional tensions.
First Vice President Drahoš expressed delight that the cooperation MOUs signed in recent years had been implemented. He shared that his itinerary for this visit included attending a Supply Chain Resilience Center seminar; the launch of the Advanced Chip Design Research Center; the opening of the Czech Centre in Taipei; and the opening ceremony of the Czech Castles and Chateaux exhibition—a collaboration between the National Taiwan Museum and the National Museum in Prague. He noted that the cooperation agreement signed between the National Palace Museum and the National Museum in Prague during this visit would bring Taiwan’s cultural relics to an exhibition in Prague next year. He said that all this again highlighted the diverse and close relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic.
First Vice President Drahoš was pleased that direct flights between Taipei and Prague, launched last July, had proven so popular. He also stated that the two countries’ joint projects to assist Ukraine had provided timely and critical support to people living in war-torn eastern Ukraine. He attributed these accomplishments to the deep mutual trust and firm friendship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic. He expressed the hope that these unprecedented strong bonds could grow even more robust through efforts by both sides.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs looks forward to Taiwan and the Czech Republic building on this foundation of mutual trust, reciprocity, and mutual benefits to steadily foster a comprehensive partnership of democratic and economic resilience and to respond to threats and challenges to the democratic community posed by authoritarian countries. (E)