Senate Speaker Vystrčil’s “I am Taiwanese” was very touching, says Taiwan PM

Czech Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil and his delegation met with Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang on Wednesday. Mr Su told the Czech delegation leader that his statement on Tuesday, where Vystrčil invoked the spirit of John F. Kennedy with the words “I am Taiwanese”, was very touching for the people of Taiwan. He said that, despite the long geographical distance between the two countries, the number of Taiwanese tourists who visit Prague has repeatedly exceeded 190,000 in the past years. He also added that he himself had visited Prague ten years ago and after seeing the custom of fastening so called “locks of love” on bridges by couples as a sign of their love, he was inspired to build a similar bridge when he was a regional governor.

Mr Vystrčil told the head of Taiwan’s government that the aim of his trip is to build a bridge between the Czech Republic and Taiwan. He also reminded that his controversial trip had received strong support from the Czech Senate.

The meeting was also attended by other Czech senators and Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib.

Earlier on Wednesday the delegation visited the Industrial Technology Research Institute, which plans to work with Taiwanese and Czech manufacturers. On Wednesday evening Mr Vystrčil plans to visit the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which houses a huge collection of ancient Chinese imperial artefacts and artwork.