BEIJING/PRAGUE, June 9 (Reuters) – China on Friday urged Europe not to hold official exchanges with Taiwan and not to support “independent forces”, ahead of a planned trip next week by Joseph Wu, the Taiwanese Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Old Continent.
“We urge Europeans to understand the essence of the Taiwan issue, to uphold solemn commitments made to China on the one-China principle, not to support Taiwan’s independent forces, and not to conduct official exchanges with Taiwan under any name,” Wang Wenbin, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said Friday.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsku confirmed that his Taiwanese counterpart, Joseph Wu, was to visit Prague next week, saying on Friday he did not expect a change in Czech policy towards Taiwan.
“Of course, the Czech government has a clear policy on maintaining relations with Taiwan, so I don’t expect us to stray from this path,” the Czech foreign minister said.
Prague does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but maintains cultural and economic relations.
During his visit, which has not yet been confirmed by Taipei, the Taiwanese foreign minister is due to speak at a think-thank event in Prague, just after Czech President Petr Pavel.
Joseph Wu must also visit Brussels during his stay in Europe, according to sources familiar with the matter.
In January, the newly elected Czech President, Petr Pavel, had a telephone exchange with the Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-wen, which had provoked the wrath of Beijing.
Taiwan, which China considers a rebel province, has no diplomatic relations with European countries except the Vatican.
China regularly denounces any contact between Taiwanese leaders and their foreign counterparts, which it sees as a violation of the One China policy.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Robert Muller; French version Zhifan Liu, editing by Kate Entringer)
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