Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu is expected to make a joint appearance with the Czech Republic’s president Petr Pavel today as part of a planned visit to Europe, unofficial details of which were revealed late last week. Appearing alongside the Czech president would amount to a kind of diplomatic bonus for Taiwan insofar as the island nation’s only formal European diplomatic link is with the Vatican.
Beijing is vociferous in its condemnation of any type of contact between Taiwanese authorities and foreign representatives or officials that might suggest that Taiwan enjoys a separate status independent of China’s claim to the island.
Central and Eastern European countries have been especially eager to show their support for Taiwan through informal contacts aimed at lessening its diplomatic isolation internationally, even more so since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Unofficial sources reportedly indicated that Wu’s itinerary includes a stop in Brussels, headquarters of the European Union. Others have said he is to attend a security conference in Prague today, where he will be a featured speaker once Czech President Petr Pavel opens the event.
Officials in Taiwan’s foreign ministry, the EU and in President Pavel’s office declined to comment or confirm details.
Wu visited Brussels, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2021, and spoke at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in Denmark in 2019.
Beijing is insistent in declaring that Taiwan is part of “one China”, demanding that other countries recognise its sovereignty claims, Taiwan’s claims to the contrary notwithstanding. When Taiwan was allowed to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius in 2021, China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania.
