How a Politician’s Death Deepened the Czech Rift With China

(Bloomberg) --

Pressure on a Czech politician over plans to visit Taiwan grew so great that it contributed to his death, according to his family. Now his replacement has gone ahead with the trip -- widening a rift between China and what was once one of its biggest cheerleaders in the European Union.

Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil, who headed to Taipei this week, is not just facing threats from Beijing but is also ignoring opposition to his trip from China-friendly President Milos Zeman. It’s that level of politically induced stress that his 72-year-old predecessor, Jaroslav Kubera, endured before a fatal heart attack in January.

While the Czech Republic tends to toe the EU line on foreign policy, the nation of 10.7 million has entered an unlikely and worsening spat with China, its fourth-biggest trading partner. In reality, though, politicians are divided over relations with Beijing, with some favoring close economic ties and others appalled by China’s human-rights record.

That’s opened a fault line that China can exploit as it grapples with the U.S. for influence in Europe. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo toured Europe last month, including a stop in Prague, where he labeled China a greater threat than Russia.

Some of those tensions have been translated to Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province -- Beijing condemns any outside diplomatic activity related to Taipei as interference in its affairs. U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar became the most senior American official to go there in decades when he visited last month.

For Zeman and local tycoons like billionaire Petr Kellner, China is a source of investment and a destination for Czech businesses to expand. Zeman, also a supporter of Russia, was the only EU head of state to attend a World War II commemoration in Beijing in 2015.

But diplomatic spats have marred cooperation.

Many Czech officials are skeptical of Beijing’s promises and strategic goals after seeing little investment coming from the 17+1 forum between mostly eastern and southern European nations and China. The country’s human-rights record is a source of dismay for many including Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib.

‘Heavy Price’

Having angered China by canceling a sister-city agreement with Shanghai, Hrib visited Taipei earlier this year and also joined Vystrcil’s trip.

The needling dates back years, with late President Vaclav Havel traveling to Taiwan and welcoming the Dalai Lama.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi -- in Europe discussing investments -- warned of a “heavy price” for visiting Taiwan, calling Vystrcil’s trip a “betrayal” that makes him an “enemy of 1.4 billion Chinese people.”

The visit is an “open provocation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman HUA Chunying told a regular briefing Thursday in Beijing. “The one-China principle is the political foundation for establishing and developing bilateral relations between China and the Czech Republic. We urge the Czech side to take actions to remove the negative impact to avoid hurting overall relations.”

The Taiwanese and the Czechs both “had to struggle to find a path to democracy,” Vystrcil told students this week in Taipei, predicting other EU officials will come too.

On Thursday, he said his trip confirms the Czech Republic is an independent country that values democracy and freedom, and invited his counterpart in Taiwan to visit. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said it admires Vystrcil’s decision to lead a big delegation despite facing threats.

Honored in Taipei

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen honored Kubera in a ceremony Thursday morning in Taipei. “We feel regret about his departure,” she said of the late Czech lawmaker. “Conferring a medal on him shows our respect to him.”

Vystrcil was feted like a visiting head of state, a rare opportunity for Taiwan, which has lost all but 15 formal diplomatic partners to Beijing. “His warmth and kindness are like spring sunshine, while Wang Yi’s threats are like cold winter winds,” said Yu Shyi-kun, the speaker of Taiwan’s legislature.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Wang’s remarks crossed a line. For Kubera’s daughter, Vendula Vinsova, the threats stirred uncomfortable memories.

“We knew he was under pressure and behaving really unusually, but we didn’t know the details,” she said. After sifting through documents about his planned trip and following developments in the past few months, “I felt like I’d suddenly woken up in a different world.”

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