Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib defies Beijing with support for Taiwan and Tibet
- Administration in March restored the practice of flying the Tibetan flag from the Czech capital’s town hall
- Doctor, 38, who spent his medical training internship in Taiwan, is challenging Czech President Milos Zeman, who has visited China several times
Zdenek Hrib had been Prague’s mayor for little more than a month when he came face to face with the Czech capital’s complex entanglement with China.
Hosting a meeting with foreign diplomats in the city in January, Hrib was asked by the Chinese ambassador to expel their Taiwanese counterpart from the gathering in deference to Beijing’s “one China” policy, under which it claims sovereignty over the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
Given recent Chinese investments in the Czech Republic, which have included the acquisition of Slavia Prague football club, a major brewery and a stake in a private television station, the fledgling mayor could have easily agreed. Prague city council had, under the preceding mayor, signed a twin cities agreement with Beijing that explicitly recognised the one China policy.
Instead, Hrib refused and the Taiwanese diplomat stayed.
The episode is a rare case of a local politician defying the might of a global superpower while making a principled stand against a national government policy that has promoted Chinese ties.