STA, 2 September 2020 - Prime Minister Janez Janša has expressed support for the Czech Republic after a visit by a senior Czech official to Taiwan has upset China, saying on Wednesday that "Slovenia stands by the Czech Republic".
"EU-China relations are based on dialogue and mutual respect. Threats directed at one of the EU members and its representatives contradict the very essence of our partnership and as such are unacceptable," reads Janša's tweet on Wednesday, the same statement that Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputova used in a tweet yesterday.
#Slovenia stands by the #CzechRepublic. #EU-#China relations are based on dialogue and mutual respect. Threats directed at one of the EU members and its representatives contradict the very essence of our partnership and as such are unacceptable. @AndrejBabis
— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) September 2, 2020
Czech Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil and a roughly 90-member delegation started a six-day official visit to Taiwan on Sunday despite China's protest against official contact with the island, which China considers a breakaway province.
Vystrcil, a member of the right-wing opposition Civil Democrats, is the highest-level Czech politician to visit Taiwan to date although the country does not have formal diplomatic relations with it and supports the One-China policy.
China labelled his visit a violation of China's sovereignty, saying he would "pay a high price for his short-sighted behaviour and political speculation".
The threat prompted the Czech Republic to summon the Chinese ambassador to express disapproval of the statement.
Slovenia accepts the One-China policy and does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which is however defined as an important market for Slovenia.
