Czech arrested in China but Prague says case unrelated to remand of suspected Chinese spy
The Czech foreign minister says the detention of a Czech citizen in China is unconnected to the case of a Chinese man being held in Prague on spying charges. But opposition voices say that if Beijing does aim to stage a prisoner swap, any Czech visiting China could become a hostage.
Seznam Zprávy reported on Wednesday that a Czech citizen had been arrested in China in late June and was being held in custody.
The news site said the security services in Prague were working on the assumption that Beijing would push to exchange the Czech national for Yang Yi-min, a Chinese journalist currently on remand in Czechia on charges of spying.
A Beijing official did speak about the two cases during a single press briefing this week.
Nevertheless, a potential swap scenario has been rejected by the Czech minister of foreign affairs, Petr Macinka.
“I’m aware of speculation, particularly in the media, that is attempting to link this case with that of a Chinese citizen arrested in Prague. But I have to reject this – these two cases are not linked in any way whatever.”
According to media reports, the man, who has not been named, worked with the Pardubice-based company Eldis; it exports radars and is part of the major arms concern Czechoslovak Group (CSG).
He was picked up at an airport in China and has been accused of “endangering state security”.
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs says he is not being held in jail but at a facility of the Chinese Ministry of the Interior.
Minister Macinka revealed little more about the case, but did say the individual was not connected to any Czech state institution.
“We have no detailed information on the purpose of this person’s trip to China. It was his private, or business, trip. That’s why at the present time there are no reasons to change any consular recommendations.”
Czechia’s own intelligence services have repeatedly warned against the threat posed by China.
Nevertheless, the current Czech government is attempting to cultivate warmer relations with the country after some years of strained ties.
Indeed, this coming weekend a Czech delegation headed by the speaker of the lower house, Tomio Okamura, and including a deputy foreign minister, is set to fly to China.
Opposition parties have called on Mr. Okamura to call off the trip, given the circumstances.
Jan Lipavský is a former Czech minister of foreign affairs.
“If it’s true that they have arrested this Czech citizen in order to ‘exchange’ him for a Chinese spy, then Czechs should be told by the government that travel to China is risky, because they could be taken hostage.”
For his part, Tomio Okamura said he would be glad to intercede in this matter during his visit to China, if asked to do so.
