China criticizes Czech Senate President's trip to Taiwan

PRAGUE, May 31 (Reuters) - China ‌condemned Czech ​Senate ​President Milos Vystrcil's visit to Taiwan this week, saying on Sunday the trip disregarded the central ‌European nation's government position and interfered in Beijing's ⁠internal affairs.

Vystrcil, from the opposition centre-right ODS party, is leading a business ‌delegation on a visit ‌to Taiwan. There, he is set to meet President Lai Ching-te along with other officials and companies -- drawing the ​ire of China.

"The Chinese side urges the Czech side to strictly abide by the one-China principle, immediately ⁠take effective measures to eliminate the adverse consequences of this wrongdoing, and safeguard the ​overall framework for the development of China-Czech relations through its concrete actions," the Chinese embassy ​in Prague said on its website.

China ‌has been critical of ties between Prague and Taipei. It sees the island as having ⁠no right to state-to-state relations, a view the government in Taipei strongly rejects.

The Czech Republic, like most countries, only formally recognises ⁠Beijing and not Taipei, but in recent years has grown closer to ​Taiwan, a powerhouse in the semiconductor industry, and has seen growing investment from it. Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung visited Prague earlier ‌in May and spoke at a forum in the city.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, whose ‌ANO party leads a coalition with right-wing and far-right parties, ⁠has criticised the trip ‌and the government did ​not provide Vystrcil with a state plane for the journey.

(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Deepa ‌Babington)

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