Tailing Incident During Taiwan VP's Visit

Diplomatic relations between China and the Czech Republic are rapidly deteriorating after it was belatedly confirmed that Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was tailed by Chinese diplomatic personnel during her visit to the Czech Republic in March last year.

The Czech Military Intelligence Service officially confirmed that Chinese intelligence agencies attempted destructive actions against a protected individual. According to Czech Public Radio reports, the operation even included plans to cause a vehicle collision involving Vice President Hsiao's car.

Vice President Hsiao visited the Czech Republic for three days starting March 18 last year, holding meetings with key parliamentary leaders including Senate President Miloš Vystrčil. However, it has been revealed that systematic tailing by Chinese diplomats occurred during this process.

Major Czech Media Outlets Report in Unison

After Czech Public Radio first broke the story, major Czech media outlets including Radio Prague International, iDNES.cz, Seznam Zprávy, and Britské listy all followed up with reports, causing significant ripples in Czech society.

Radio Prague International reported that "the Taiwan issue is creating tensions in China-Czech relations," adding that "the Czech Republic does not officially recognize Taiwan but maintains close unofficial relations."

Expert: "Bilateral Relations Reach Freezing Point"

Martin Hála, founder of Czech think tank Sinopsis, pointed out that "China is a Leninist one-party dictatorship, and bilateral relations with such a state have special characteristics," adding that "traditional diplomatic procedures do not work properly in such relationships."

He continued, "What matters most is the overall atmosphere, and currently bilateral relations have reached a freezing point."

Shadow of Late Senate President Kubera's Death

This incident recalls the sudden death of former Senate President Jaroslav Kubera, who had planned to visit Taiwan in 2020. President Kubera faced strong pressure from China ahead of his Taiwan visit and died suddenly just days before departure. The Taiwan government subsequently posthumously awarded him the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon.

Vice President Hsiao stated regarding this tailing incident that she "will not yield to threats."

Chinese Cyber Attacks Also Confirmed

The deterioration of China-Czech relations does not stop at the Taiwan issue alone. In May this year, the Czech government officially announced that China had conducted cyber attacks targeting the Czech Foreign Ministry.

iDNES.cz reported the cyber attack incident, noting that "tensions between Beijing and Prague continue to escalate recently."

Future Outlook [AI Analysis]

The diplomatic conflict between China and the Czech Republic appears unlikely to be resolved in the short term. In particular, as long as the Czech Republic moves toward strengthening relations with Taiwan and China continues to respond forcefully, bilateral relations are likely to cool further.

The Czech Republic is a representative country among Central European nations that has maintained a critical stance toward China. This is analyzed to be influenced by the experience of Soviet domination during the Cold War era. Czech society's vigilance against China's authoritarian behavior is not expected to ease readily.

Meanwhile, this incident serves as an example showing that China is conducting aggressive intelligence activities abroad for its political interests, and is expected to raise alarm among other countries in Europe.