Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to visit Czech Republic this month

China: According to three people informed on the situation, former president of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen will go to the Czech Republic this month. This is a delicate tour for a prominent figure that Beijing has often criticized as a “separatist.”

Like most nations, the Czech Republic does not have formal diplomatic links to China-claimed Taiwan; but, as Beijing increases military threats against the island and Taipei looks for new allies in Eastern and Central Europe, the two sides have become closer.

Tsai, who resigned in May, will visit Prague and make a lecture at Forum 2000, starting on October 13, according to the three sources, who requested anonymity due to the delicate nature of the subject.

Taiwan’s ties with Europe are becoming even closer

According to the sources, Tsai will meet with prominent Czech and European leaders when she is in the country. One of the people with firsthand knowledge of Tsai’s visit said, “Taiwan’s ties with the Czech Republic and Europe are getting closer and closer in recent years, especially in global geopolitics.” “Therefore, for a former president who has just left her role, the visit is particularly meaningful,” said a source.

“We will formally explain it to you when there is confirmed news,” said Tsai’s office.

With firsthand knowledge of the trip, another source said that the next trip is delicate and necessitates “being more cautious with safety” because of worries about Chinese harassment and spying.

A request for comment was not immediately answered by China’s foreign ministry.

Additionally, Forum 2000 did not immediately react to a request for comment. Forum 2000 will convene its summit in Prague from October 13 to October 15.

During Tsai’s second term in office, China held two rounds of war exercises surrounding Taiwan: one in 2022 after a visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the other in 2023 following Tsai’s return from a trip to the US when she met Kevin McCarthy, Pelosi’s successor.

European tour scheduled to include Belgium and France

According to the sources, Tsai, who has a PhD from the London School of Economics, is also scheduled to visit two additional European nations, but specifics have not yet been confirmed. Tsai is scheduled to visit Belgium and France on the same European tour, according to two diplomatic sources who spoke to Reuters. China was incensed when Taiwan’s president-elect, Tsai, spoke with Petr Pavel, the president-elect of the Czech Republic, in January 2023.

Lai Ching-te, Tsai’s vice president, was elected in January of this year and succeeded Tsai in May.

As a senior statesman, Tsai continues to be a prominent and senior member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is now in power.

China abhors Lai and his party, seeing them as “separatists” who reject Beijing’s insistence that Taiwan, which is democratically ruled, is a part of China.

Taiwan’s destiny can only be decided by its people, according to Lai, Tsai, and the DPP, who reject Beijing’s claims of sovereignty.

Ma Ying-jeou, the former leader of Tsai’s party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which is presently Taiwan’s main opposition party, travels abroad on a regular basis without incurring Beijing’s wrath.

Ma has met President Xi Jinping of China twice. Before Ma left power in late 2015, there was a landmark summit in Singapore, and early this year, there was another one in Beijing.

Although the KMT vehemently disputes being pro-Beijing, it does want deeper connections with China.