Taipei, Taiwan

Since the recognition of the One-China policy by Czech in 1979, Taiwan and the European nation have maintained unofficial diplomatic ties. Now, in a diplomatic coup show of defiance to China, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen held a high-level interaction with president-elect Petr Pavel of the Czech Republic on Monday.

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This comes amid the fuming tensions between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China over the sovereignty of the island nation. The talks between the two leaders went on for about 15 minutes and both sides emphasised shared values of freedom, human rights and democracy. 

It is pertinent to note that the high-level engagement of Taiwan with any other nations is always received with immense aggression by the Chinese authorities. However, this latest talk between Taiwan and Czech seemed to be held without any trace of hesitation that could have shadowed the talks in fear of Chinese retaliation. 

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Pavel told Tsai that he is looking forward to meeting the Taiwanese president in near future. Earlier, then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan pulled the trigger with China which chided Washington of breaching the One-China policy. Taiwan continues to claim that it is a sovereign country however this is always denied by China. 

Not only Pelosi's visit, but even then president Donald Trump's talks with Tsai also provoked China. Tsai expressed hope to Pavel for close cooperation between the countries. "Bilateral interaction between Taiwan and the Czech Republic is close and good," Tsai's office said quoting the president. 

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Petr Pavel is a former army general and high NATO official. He won the Czech presidential election on Saturday. Following his conversation with Tsai, he tweeted that the two countries "share the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights".

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The dynamics are shifting in the Czech Republic as Pavel, who is set to take office in early March, will replace President Milos Zeman, a pro-Beijing leader.

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