Chairman of the Czech Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee Pavel Fischer visited Taiwan’s Legislature on Wednesday, part of a three-day visit to the country. It is his second official visit to Taiwan.
On Tuesday night, Fischer was awarded the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). According to a press release from the Foreign Ministry, the award was given based on Fischer’s contributions to Taiwan-Czech relations. Fischer helped facilitate a visit by Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil to Taiwan in 2020 and has been an advocate for several pro-Taiwan resolutions that have passed in the Senate, according to the statement.
On Wednesday, Fischer met with Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) who led him on a visit to the Legislature. In a speech, You thanked Fischer for his advocacy and also for his assistance in facilitating You’s visit with the co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) during a recent trip to Europe.
Fischer also gave a speech, in which he said that the Friendship Medal he received the previous night demonstrates his commitment to Taiwan. He says that the current situation is very dangerous, and warned of the connections between economic and national security threats. He says he has seen the way that gas supplies have been weaponized by Russia during the war in Ukraine and says that overreliance on the Chinese economy could present a similar concern.