Magic Prague

Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib shrugs off Chinese hysteria as he signs twinning agreement with Taipei

By Matthew Day
Mayor of Prague Zdenek Hrib, left, and Taipei city mayor Ko Wen-je singed a partnership agreement between the two cities.

The Czech capital Prague branded China "unreliable" and a “bully” as it scorned the economic might of Beijing to sign a partnership agreement with Taipei in a move seen as evidence of a cooling of attitudes in Europe towards the lure of Chinese investment.
Zdenek Hrib, the city’s mayor, signed the agreement increasing co-operation with the Taiwanese capital on Monday knowing that it could deepen Chinese anger with Prague.
The rift began when the Czech capital challenged a clause in an existing partnership agreement with Beijing requiring it to accept the “one-China” policy, which claims Taiwan as Chinese territory.
The challenge prompted Beijing to tear up the partnership agreement and to cancel planned tours of China by Czech orchestras.
“I think that all people should be aware that China is not a reliable business partner because it cancelled already arranged tours and cancelled contracts already signed just to bully the Prague orchestras,” Mr Hrib told The Telegraph.
“The Chinese reaction has been hysterical.
“Partners should treat each other with respect but we had a partner that did not do that,” he added. “For example, they stopped responding to us. Why should you have a partner that won’t even speak to you?”
In 2018, some 620,000 Chinese flocked to the city but Mr Hrib said any drop in the number of tourists from China “would not be much of a loss” to the city.
The dispute reflects growing question marks in Europe over the merits of Chinese involvement in local economies.
In Montenegro the economy is struggling to service the debt of a massive Chinese loan to build a motorway that forms part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Even Milos Zeman, the Czech president, who unsettled many of fellow citizens with his ardour for China, appears to be losing his enthusiasm for the country.
Last week he said he would not attend a summit in China of the heads of Asian and Eastern European states, saying that China “did not fulfil its promise” when it came to investment.
“There is a change in the way people perceive China,” said Mr Hrib.
“There were a lot of promises made about investment and the economic benefits from the ties between the Czech Republic and China, but after a few years it was quite obvious that these promises have not been fulfilled and that only a fraction of the investments took place.
"And those investments that did took place were not real investments, just acquisitions. Nothing that created job opportunities or knowledge transfer.”

In the Spirit of Václav Havel

Prague city council moves to axe partnership with Beijing
By Jan Lopatka

Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib tweeted this image of himself on March 9, 2019, raising the Tibetan flag at the Czech capital’s town hall.

PRAGUE -- Prague city council voted on Monday to cancel a partnership agreement with Beijing after it failed to remove an article requiring it commit to the “one China” principle, which refers to China’s stance that Taiwan and it both belong to one China.
The city’s leadership, elected last year, says it is non-standard for city-to-city partnerships such as the one signed by the previous administration in 2016, to include diplomatic matters that are up to national governments.
“Unfortunately, the Chinese side did not respect our opinion that we do not want the political article, so the negotiations did not lead anywhere,” council member Hana Kordova Marvanova.
“For us this is also a gesture that we do not want to declare subservient attitude to the authoritarian regime in China.”
The decision must still be approved by the city assembly, where parties backing the executive council have a majority.
The spat between Prague and Beijing, which has been rumbling throughout the year, has soured ties between the two countries, which have in recent years tried to build a stronger political and business relationship.
Chinese authorities have already canceled tours of several Czech musical groups to China that had some link to Prague.
The Czech ties to China have been pushed mainly by Milos Zeman, who has frequently visited China and backed investments by Czech lender Home Credit there, as well as Chinese telecoms firm Huawei’s business in the Czech Republic.
New agency CTK reported Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek said foreign policy was determined by the government and it maintained its position on China, although it respected the council’s decision. 

The Czech government adheres to the one China principle.
The Chinese Embassy in Prague said last month that the cause of the clashes was on the Czech side. It said Prague city hall had “very negative” effects in affairs related to China’s "sovereignty", and this undermined the atmosphere in bilateral relations.
The embassy did not immediately answer a request for comment on Monday.
Czech-Chinese relations have already been dented by a warning last year by the Czech cyber-security watchdog against risks of using equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE in critical infrastructure.
Expectations of billions of dollars worth of Chinese investments in the country have also not materialized.