Prague, Oct 19 (CTK) – The Chinese ambassador to the Czech Republic visited Prague Castle shortly before Czech top political leaders issued a statement on relations with China in connection with a visit by the Dalai Lama to Prague, public Czech Radio (CRo) said on Wednesday.
According to CRo, the meeting was concerned with the Dalai Lama’s visit. After it, the Czech political leaders issued a statement, in which they said the meetings of certain Czech politicians, including ministers, with the Dalai Lama were not an expression of a change of the Czech policy on China.
At Prague Castle, the seat of Czech heads of state, the ambassador met Hynek Kmonicek, director of the foreign department of the Presidential Office, who confirmed the meeting for CRo.
The statement was signed by President Milos Zeman and by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the heads of the two houses of parliament, Milan Stech (Senate) and Milan Hamacek (Chamber of Deputies), all members of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD).
The statement speaks about respect for “the territorial integrity of the People’ s Republic of China of which Tibet is a part.”
The political leaders said it would be unfortunate if the meeting of several Czech politicians with the Dalai Lama were comprehended as a change of the Czech official policy.
The participants in the meetings included Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) and KDU-CSL chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Belobradek.
According to CRo, Kmonicek reassured the ambassador that nothing has changed in Czech policy on China.
“The Czech Republic is a free country. We will restrict neither our visitors nor those who meet them. Nevertheless, the government policy allows government members to only do something. This means that government members will behave so as government members behave, which means that their opinion is the same as at the moment when they agreed with strategic partnership with the People’s Republic of China,” Kmonicek told CRo.
The Dalai Lama’s supporters met the Dalai Lama on Wednesday in the Senate and some universities hung up the Tibetan flag indicating that they consider the tone of the statement exceeding the standards of the diplomatic protocol.
