The Friendship Medal of Diplomacy was conferred Dec. 5 on Pavel Fischer, chair of the Czech Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security, by Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu in recognition of his longstanding contributions to strengthening Taiwan-Czechia relations.
During the presentation ceremony at Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Taipei City, Wu said that Fischer had always urged democratic solidarity and firmly defended values of freedom and democracy shared by the two sides.
Fischer is a staunch Taiwan supporter who facilitated the 2020 visit of Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, Wu said. Fischer made contributions to the Czechia donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan during the pandemic, was proactive in the passage of multiple pro-Taiwan resolutions and voiced support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, he added.
The minister took the opportunity to thank the Czech government for backing Taiwan, citing President Petr Pavel’s remarks during the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly condemning China’s illegal military intrusions and stressing the importance of cross-strait peace and stability.
In response, Fischer praised Taiwan’s resilience as a front-line state countering authoritarian expansion. As demonstrated by visits from Czech parliamentary presidents and the signing of over 30 cooperative memorandums of understanding, the relationship between Taiwan and the Czech Republic is growing ever stronger, he said while also pledging to further enhance the friendship and unify democracies to tackle challenges posed by dictatorships.
According to the MOFA, in recent years Taiwan and the Czech Republic have enjoyed a close relationship in areas spanning culture, economics, scientific research, transportation and trade. The government will continue to work with like-minded partners like Czechia to create a resilient, stable and prosperous economic and democratic global system.
Fischer and his delegation will meet with Premier Chen Chien-jen and Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun during his three-day stay. (YCH-E)
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