Representatives of the Czech Republic and Taiwan signed five new memoranda to expand their cooperation in Internet security, the space industry, the development of catalyst technologies or precision engineering. This was announced after the Czech-Taiwanese trade meeting in Prague by the Minister and Chairman of the National Development Council of Taiwan, Kchung Ming-sin, who led the largest Taiwanese trade mission in the Czech Republic in the history of both countries. The talks followed last year’s trip of senators to Taiwan under the leadership of the chairman of the upper house, Miloš Vystrčil (ODS).
“We are convinced that by developing cooperation with Taiwan, we are not violating anything and we are confirming our originality, sovereignty and independence,” Vystrčil told a press conference. He responded to the question of whether deepening cooperation would not lead to increased displeasure in mainland China, which Taiwan sees as part of it. “We help us to function in the Czech Republic in a way that is beneficial for us,” said Vystrčil. “It is our duty to behave in such a way as to remain free, to support democracies in other parts of the world and to act in a way that is economically advantageous for us,” he added.
According to Vystrčil, the Czech Republic and Taiwan have a very good perspective of cooperation in electromobility and semiconductor technologies, in banking, in medical supplies or in the promotion of tourism. He mentioned the Taiwanese gift of respirators and lines for their production and the Czech gift of coronavirus vaccines for Taiwan. Kchung Ming-sin called it a “cycle of goodness and mutual aid,” and Stuck added the “cycle of mutual support for democracies.”
The 60-member Taiwanese delegation, which includes Minister of Science and Research Wu Chongqing in addition to fifty entrepreneurs, came to the Czech Republic as part of regular bilateral economic consultations, which have been held since 2016 in cooperation with the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. The delegation includes representatives of the Research Institute for Industrial Technology (ITRI), the National Space Organization or the Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency. Among the companies are, for example, SEMI / Association of Chip Manufacturers or representatives of two banks that could have branches in the Czech Republic.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Pavel Fischer (independent), recalled that the European Parliament, in agreement with the Czech Senate, called for an investment agreement to be negotiated between the EU and Taiwan. Taiwan is one of the most competitive and innovative economies in the world, and the Czech Republic is an equal partner thanks to its strategic location in the center of Europe and educated people, said Pavel Diviš, chairman of the Czech-Taiwan Chamber of Commerce. According to him, the Czech Republic could use the decision of Taiwanese companies to move production in the high-tech sector from China to safer third countries.
