It has described Vystrcil’s visit as a “despicable act.”“His insistence to go to Taiwan to carry out this so-called ‘visit’ deliberately wrecks the political foundation of China-Czech relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Thursday. Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib, who signed the agreement, is on this week’s delegation to Taiwan. The Czech visit, he said, was “a psychological boost during continued pressures and marginalization” by Beijing. “But such public demonstrations of support and engagement with Taiwan are not going to become typical overnight,” he told AFP. Modern-day Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the end of a civil war in 1949.

Source: Manila Times August 30, 2020 11:15 UTC