Shanghai suspends all official contact with Prague over its Taipei partnership agreement

Shanghai, Jan 14 (CTK) – China’s financial hub Shanghai today announced its suspension of all official interactions with the Czech capital Prague after the latter signed a partnership agreement with Taiwan’s capital Taipei, the Reuters agency has reported.

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je signed an agreement on economic, trade and cultural cooperation between the two cities in Prague on Monday.

Last October, the Prague City hall terminated its sister agreement with Beijing, the capital of China, due to their dispute over the deletion of the pact’s article saying that Prague recognises the policy of One China.

For China, Taiwan is the most sensitive diplomatic issue. China considers Taiwan its province and threatens with a military intervention in case Taiwan declared independence. Despite, Taiwan has been operating independently since 1949, with its own government and democratic setup, while there has been a one-party rule in China.

In its statement today, the Shanghai city government said that the Prague City Hall has taken many wrong steps concerning core issues related to China, such as the Taiwan issue.

They have “wantonly interfered in China’s internal politics and publicly challenged the ‘one China’ principle”, it said, cited by Reuters.

“The Shanghai city government and people strongly rebuke this and express their stern opposition,” the Shanghai government said, adding that due to the disappearance of the right “political preconditions”, Shanghai will immediately suspend all official interactions with Prague.