Legislative Yuan
Press Release
September 19, 2022
President You Si-kun received a delegation led by Chair Jiří Drahoš of the Czech Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights, and Petitions
You Si-kun: Taiwan and the Czech Republic share the language of democracy and freedom, and Taiwan is grateful to the Czech Republic for its support
Accompanied by Secretary General Lin Jih-jia, Consultant Chou Ya-shu, Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Tah-ray Yui; Czech Economic and Cultural Office Representative David Steinke and Deputy Representative Dita Táborská; and Ambassador Liang-ruey Ke, President You Si-kun met with a 12-member delegation led by Jiří Drahoš, Chair of the Czech Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights, and Petitions at 11:30 a.m.
In remarks at the event, President You stated that he was delighted to meet with Chair Drahoš again and new Representative Steinke. On behalf of the Legislative Yuan, he expressed his sincere appreciation to the Czech Senate for the high-level diplomatic courtesies accorded to him and the cross-party delegation he led to that country in July this year.
President You recognized that the Czech Republic is a bellwether of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The Velvet Revolution in 1989 ended the one-party Communist authoritarian regime peacefully, which led to a series of anti-communist movements in Central and Eastern European countries.
President You continued by underscoring that the distinguished guests present are all important scholars and experts in the fields of science, medicine, cybersecurity, education, culture, history, and human rights. I want to thank you for your strong support of Taiwan by continuing to promote scholarship programs, museum exhibitions, tour performances by musical groups, and academic exchanges between national space centers, Academia Sinica, and our national health research institutes. By working together, he averred, closer cooperation would result.
President You noted that late Czech President Vaclav Havel had foreseen that communist regimes could not endure thanks to their innate structure. In recent years, we have seen the international democratic landscape shrinking. Through wolf-warrior diplomacy, Confucius Institutes, and the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese Communist Party continues to expand and cause other nations to fall into debt traps. International situations such as Afghanistan, Myanmar’s junta, Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are of grave concern to the world.
Facing hegemonic expansion by China and Russia reflects something Mr. Havel urged: “Dictatorship is not just a political crisis, but also a cultural as well as humanitarian crisis.” In The Power of the Powerless, he wrote, “Our priority mission is to fight for the life of freedom, truth, and dignity tirelessly and endlessly without asking for anything in return.” He also said that “if you do not stand up to defend other’s freedom, you will give up your own freedom.”
President You continued to say that the Czech Republic fully realizes the sprit and will of President Havel. He cited statistics by German think tank Kiel Institute for the World Economy to show that the Czech Republic ranks in the top 10 among countries assisting Ukraine financially, and seventh when adjusting for GDP, as well as sixth in terms of providing military equipment and weapons. The Czech Republic is admirable for upholding democracy and freedom and carrying out the spirit and will of Mr. Havel in defending Ukraine.
Lastly, President You thanked the distinguished guests present. While geographically distant, Taiwan and the Czech Republic share the language of democracy and freedom. He hoped to see the bilateral relationship continue to deepen to defend the universal values of freedom, democracy, and peaceful development.
In his remarks, Chair Jiří Drahoš expressed thanks to President You for his invitation and kind words. He still remembered vividly President You’s visit to Prague and his keynote speech at the Czech Senate. Drahoš continued to say that although the delegation had arrived Taiwan only the day before, he felt like he was home, because both countries shared a belief in freedom, democracy, human rights, and minority communities. Both sides learn from and cooperate with each other. They also share a similar history. He hoped that the two countries would continue to cooperate in the pursuit of democracy.
Drahoš also mentioned the mutual assistance provided by the two countries during the pandemic through the donation of medical supplies and vaccines. Taiwan also provided the Czech Republic with many material reliefs when it was hit by a major storm in South Moravia. All of theses are concrete examples of mutual assistance.
He continued by sharing that all the members of the delegation are experts in their respective areas. They will have in-depth discussions with Taiwan in the fields of technology, education, culture, and politics, through visits arranged by Taiwan and the Czech Republic in the coming days to further promote bilateral cordial relations. He continued to point out that the Czech Republic would continue to assist Taiwan in joining international organizations, such as the WHO and ICAO. He hoped to see direct flights start soon.
After exchanging gifts and group photos, President You hosted a luncheon in honor of the delegation.
A translation of President You’s remarks upon meeting Senator Jiří Drahoš, Chair of the Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights, and Petitions is as follows:
Chair of the Czech Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights, and Petitions Jiří Drahoš;
Czech Academy of Sciences President Eva Zažímalová;
Czech Deputy Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports Radka Wildová;
Czech Deputy Minister of Science, Research, and Innovation Jana Havlíková;
Czech Dean of the University of Ostrava Faculty of Medicine Rastislav Maďar;
Director of ELI Beamlines Laser Center at the Czech Academy of Sciences Roman Havězda;
Head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine of University Hospital Ostrava and University of Ostrava Pavel Ševčík;
Chair of the Czech Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the National Institute of Public Health Jan Kynčl;
Czech Research Director of CERIT at Masaryk University Tomáš Pitner;
Head of the Center for Cybersecurity at Czech Technical University Jaroslav Burčík;
Research Fellow at the Institute of Computer Science Roman Neruda;
Chief of Staff Martin Mejstřík;
Representative David Steinke;
Deputy Representative Dita Táborská;
Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Tah-ray Yui;
Ambassador Liang-ruey Ke;
Secretary General Lin;
Consultant Chou;
Distinguished guests; Ladies and gentlemen:
Good afternoon!
On behalf of the Legislative Yuan, I want to express my warm welcome to Chairman Drahoš and all distinguished guests. I am glad to see Representative Steinke today so soon after our meeting in Prague two months ago. It is a great pleasure to meet you again in Taiwan. I also want to offer my sincere congratulations to you for having recently taken up your post.
First of all, I want to extend my appreciation to the Czech Senate for having received me and my cross-party delegation of legislators in July with a high level of diplomatic courtesy, including offering a warm welcome by the Senate, hanging Taiwan’s national flag on the wall of both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, publishing press releases on official websites, hosting a keynote speech in the Senate, livestreaming press conferences, offering special security officers for 24-hour protection, and allowing motorcades with police escort. All of these show great progress in our relations. We were especially moved that Senate President Vystrčil came to the airport to both receive and bid farewell to us. This was a level of courtesy equivalent to that offered by our diplomatic allies. I want to once again show my utmost appreciation to the Senate on behalf of the Legislative Yuan.
All of you are important scholars and experts in the fields of science, medicine, cybersecurity, education, culture, history, and human rights. I want to thank you for your strong support of Taiwan by continuing to promote scholarship programs, museum exhibits, tour performances by musical groups, and academic exchanges between national space centers, Academia Sinica, and our national health research institutes. I believe that we will have closer cooperation moving forward.
The Czech Republic is situated at the heart of Europe and is a bellwether of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The Velvet Revolution in 1989 ended the one-party authoritarian regime of the Communist Party in a peaceful way and led to a series of anti-communist movements in Central and Eastern European countries that led these countries to democracy and prosperity. The first president of the Czech Republic—a great philosopher and the key man behind the Velvet Revolution—Václav Havel, once stated, “Communism itself makes itself impossible to endure.” He saw clearly the nature of communist totalitarianism and had the farsightedness to understand that such regimes cannot endure.
In recent years, we have seen the international democratic landscape shrinking. Through wolf-warrior diplomacy, Confucius Institutes, and the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese Communist Party continues to expand and cause other nations to fall into debt traps. International situations such as Afghanistan, Myanmar’s junta, Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are of grave concern to the world.
Facing hegemonic expansion by China and Russia reflects something Mr. Havel knew: “Dictatorship is not just a political crisis, but also a cultural as well as humanitarian crisis.” In The Power of the Powerless, he wrote, “Our priority mission is to fight for the life of freedom, truth, and dignity tirelessly and endlessly without asking for anything in return.” He also said, “If you do not stand up to defend other’s freedom, you will give up your own freedom.”
Statistics by German think tank Kiel Institute for the World Economy show that the Czech Republic ranks in the top 10 among countries assisting Ukraine financially and seventh when adjusting for GDP, as well as sixth in terms of providing military equipment and weapons. The Czech Republic is admirable for upholding the values of democracy and freedom in carrying out the spirit and will of Mr. Havel in standing up to defend Ukraine.
In closing, I want to thank the Czech Senate and all of you present here today for your support of Taiwan. Geographically distant from each other, Taiwan and the Czech Republic share the language of democracy and freedom. I hope that our relationship will continue to deepen as we pursue the universal values of freedom and democracy and defend global peace, development, and prosperity. I wish you a fruitful and pleasant stay in Taiwan and every success. Thank you.
