Foreign Minister tells Czech ambassador to China to be careful about his statements

Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has called on the Czech Ambassador to China Vladimír Tomšík to avoid comments such as the words that he used to support the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Mr Lipavský told this to Czech Television on Sunday.

The request was made in reaction to Ambassador Tomšík’s statement to Beijing Daily last year, in which he said that, upon the request of Czech President Miloš Zeman he expresses support for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. The statement is problematic because several Western states have announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games due to China’s poor human rights record.

Foreign Minister Lipavský said that Ambassador Tomšík’s comments do not fit into the revision of Czech relations with China, which is currently being prepared by the ministry. He said that he called the ambassador and asked him to avoid such statements.