Czechia-Taiwan ties might just be okay, according to former Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky.
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic made significant public advances during the four years that Lipavsky was foreign minister, including high-level visits by Czech politicians to Taiwan, cultural and economic exchanges, and even a phone call between the presidents.
But things took a less positive turn when the populist party ANO, Lipavsky’s opponents, won the parliamentary elections in 2025. The leader of ANO, Andrej Babis, was widely perceived as being far more pro-China, and people feared that Taiwan’s position would suffer.
But Lipavsky, visiting Taiwan for the first time this week to attend the Yushan Forum, said that things will probably not change that much.
“I believe that the Czech-Taiwanese relationship is founded on a solid basis,” he said, adding that he expects the new government to focus more on business and practical issues, while being less vocal on democratic values. But, “that’s okay with me.”
At an event hosted by the European Values Center for Security Policy, a Czech think tank with a branch in Taiwan, Lipavsky ran through the highlights of the ties between Taiwan and Czechia. Taiwan has created 50,000 jobs in the Czech Republic, and invested $200 million. Taiwanese businesses like Foxconn are present. There are Taiwanese pangolins in Prague Zoo. And the National Palace Museum sent a high-profile exhibition of Chinese artifacts to the National Museum of the Czech Republic.
Since the election of Babis, things haven’t really changed. Moreover, there are some positive signs. Starlux, Taiwan’s third major airline, will start direct flights from Taipei to Prague.
“The new government is not devoted to these bilateral relations as before,” said Marc Cheng (鄭家慶), executive director of the European Union Centre in Taiwan. But he pointed out that the foundations of people to people exchanges for both sides are already established, so there is still momentum.
That was a view echoed by Lana Pedisic, the Indo-Pacific Associate at Geoplytics, an international advisory firm, and currently a research fellow in Taiwan. She pointed to the links between NGOs as further evidence.
During the discussion, Pedisic asked Lipavsky for advice about how other smaller EU countries, like her own Croatia, could develop their ties to Taiwan. The former foreign minister suggested focusing on interests first.
“The symbolism should not precede the practical cooperation.”
Speaking with Domino Theory after the event, Pedisic said that because Croatia perceives Serbia as its primary security threat, one of the many opportunities to work together could be on drone cooperation.
Drones may have been on everyone’s mind. The Economist cited figures last week from Taiwan’s Customs Administration indicating that drone exports to Czechia jumped from practically nothing to 20,000 a month in October last year, with a further rise to 40,000 in January.
During Lipavsky’s term, there were rumors of defense ties with Taiwan that didn’t materialize. Domino Theory asked him what might have gone right after he left.
The drone statistic was very interesting, he replied. “I’m not aware that there will be any real direct sales of defense things to Taiwan, but they somehow magically always appear.”
Leave a Reply