Defying China's wrath, Czech senator delivers Taiwan speech

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Defying anger from China, the president of the Czech Republic's Senate addressed Taiwan's legislature on Tuesday, offering a strong rebuke of authoritarian politics and Beijing's increasingly aggressive foreign policy.

Milos Vystrcil concluded a speech that underscored shared democratic values by proclaiming in Mandarin that 'œI am Taiwanese,'ť a throwback to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy's famed 1963 anti-communist speech in a then-divided Berlin in which he declared he was a Berliner.

Beijing is furious about the Czech delegation's visit, with the foreign ministry summoning the Czech Republic's ambassador to lodge stern representations on Monday and saying the visit amounted to 'œflagrant support of Taiwan independence.'ť

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official contact between other countries and the self-governing island.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying condemned Vystrcil's visit, saying, "he is openly supporting the separatist forces and separatist activities in Taiwan that seriously violate China's sovereignty and China's internal affairs.'ť

She echoed a warning from Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said in Europe on Monday that 'œthe Chinese government and people will not sit by and let this go unchecked, and will definitely make them pay a heavy price for their short-sighted behavior and political opportunism.'ť

In his address, Vystrcil directly referenced Kennedy's 'œIch bin ein Berliner'ť speech, and emphasized democratic freedoms embraced since the Czech Republic threw off communist rule at the end of the Cold War and Taiwan emerged from martial law at the end of the 1980s.

'œIn 1963, the American president JFK, in his famous speech '~I'm a Berliner,' clearly opposed communism and political oppression and supported the people of West Berlin,'ť Vystrcil said. 'œHe said '~Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.'"

'œPlease let me use the same manner to express my support to the people of Taiwan: I'm a Taiwanese,'ť he said, speaking the last phrase in Mandarin Chinese.

Vystrcil's visit follows a spat last year between Beijing and Prague, the Czech Republic's capital. The two cities ended a sister-cities agreement because Beijing had wanted Prague to agree to the 'œone-China'ť principle, which is China's stance that Taiwan is a part of its territory.

The visit is also in direct opposition to Czech President Milos Zeman, who has taken strongly pro-China views. Vystrcil is to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen later in the week.

Amid China's campaign of diplomatic isolation and military threats, Taiwan has been blocked from participating in major international forums and now has just 15 formal allies. Despite the lack of official ties, the U.S. remains Taiwan's closest partner and source of weaponry to counter China's threat to bring the island under its control by military means.

Following his speech, Vystrcil told reporters that his visit was consistent with Prague's interpretation of the 'œone-China policy" and wasn't intended as an affront to Beijing.

'œAnd something I wish to emphasize is that we are in no way opposing mutual benefits and equal relations with the People's Republic of China as much as we want to have mutual benefits and equal relations with Taiwan,'ť Vystrcil said.

Taiwanese parliamentary Speaker Yu Shyi-kun said the Czech delegation's visit was an affirmation of Taiwan's continued presence on the world stage as well as a repudiation of authoritarianism.

'œOn one hand, (Vystrcil's) visit is proof of the existence of Taiwan. Proof to the world that Taiwan exists," Yu said.

'œAt the same time, the visit makes me feel that, no matter whether it be the governments and peoples of the Czech Republic or Taiwan, we all have one thing in common, we both fight against an authoritarian regime and mutually create a future.'ť

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Associated Press videojournalist Johnson Lai contributed to this report.