China is suspending all contact with Czech President Petr Pavel, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said yesterday, according to the Chinese embassy in Prague. The spokesman said the president’s visit to the Dalai Lama on 27 July had damaged China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“In disregard of China’s repeated protests and strong opposition, Czech President Petr Pavel went to India to meet with the Dalai Lama,” Lin Jian said. “This seriously contravenes the political commitment made by the Czech government to the Chinese government, and harms China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“In light of the severity of Pavel’s provocative action, China decides to cease all engagement with him,” he added.
In response, the Czech Presidential Office stated on social media that there is currently no direct communication between the Czech Republic and China at the presidential level, and that China’s announcement would therefore not change the current situation.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told reporters yesterday that President Petr Pavel’s visit to India was a private one to personally congratulate the Dalai Lama on his significant jubilee, and the Chinese should therefore treat the visit as such.
Vlastimil Valek, first deputy chairman of TOP 09 and Minister of Health, wrote on social media that his party stands in support of the president, just as it stood behind its leader Marketa Pekarova Adamova when she went to Taiwan. “We are not interested in Chinese comrades telling us where Czech officials can and cannot go. Let them try that on those who want to drag us back East,” Valek said.
“I don’t think it will hurt the president that much. The Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China can go to hell,” wrote Marek Zenisek (TOP 09), the minister for science, research and innovation, on social media.
President Pavel went to congratulate the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday in India, where the Tibetan spiritual leader is staying, as part of a private trip after a work trip to Japan.
The Chinese embassy in the country condemned the move at the time, saying that Pavel had ignored the Chinese position and the overall situation of Chinese-Czech relations by insisting on his visit. The embassy also urged the Czech Republic to abide by the “One China” political commitment.
Since the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule and the flight from Tibet, the 14th Dalai Lama has lived in Dharamsala, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is also based. Beijing regards the Dalai Lama as a separatist, does not recognise the government-in-exile, and considers Tibet to be part of Chinese territory. The Dalai Lama rejects accusations of separatism and stresses that he is pushing for greater autonomy for Tibet and the protection of Tibetan Buddhist culture.
