The visit of Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil to Taiwan has been met with severe condemnation from Beijing and its surrogates, as might be expected.
Indeed, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi most notably condemned the visit to Taiwan, noting that it had crossed a “red line” for the People’s Republic of China and that a “heavy price” would be paid for Vystrcil’s actions.
Yet, the outpouring of support for the Czech speaker in the wake of these threats is indicative of a potential misstep in Chinese diplomacy, in that its own heavy-handed use of sticks to prevent deviation from the ‘One China’ policy may be backfiring.
For more on how and why this is backfiring, read MapInfluenCE analyst Filip Šebok’s comments for the Nikkei Asian Review here.
Also cited by the article is CERGE-EI economist Vilem Semerak, an external collaborator for MapInfluenCE and participant at a recent conference discussing the project entitled; China’s Sticks and Carrots in Central Europe: The Logic and Power of Chinese Influence.
Image source: Taiwan Presidential Office/Flickr.
