Czech European MPs frequently come under pressure from China, criticize Beijing for intimidation and stress that they will not give in

(Central News Agency reporter Liu Yuting, Prague, 14th) Three Czech European parliamentarians have recently had disputes with China, including being protested by China when visiting Taiwan, being detained when entering Beijing, and being misquoted by Chinese state media. Congressman Krutilek said that China has no right to intimidate European parliamentarians. China’s move is intended to prevent European politicians from cooperating with Taiwan, and European parliamentarians should not back down because of this.

The Czech News Agency (CTK) reported that politicians believe that these cases show that China is exerting pressure on European parliamentarians in various forms.

Ondrej Krutilek, a Czech European member of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), received a letter of protest from the Chinese Embassy in the EU due to his visit to Taiwan with the European Parliament delegation at the end of October.

The letter states that China has noticed that Krutilek attended the annual meeting of the Formosa Club in Taiwan and met with Taiwanese officials, and believes that relevant actions seriously harm China's core interests and violate the one-China principle.

In addition to expressing its protest, China also demanded that Krutilek respect the "one-China principle", avoid any official contact with the Taiwan authorities, and refrain from sending wrong signals to forces supporting Taiwan's independence. Other European MPs reportedly received similar letters.

Krutilek said the Chinese protests were not surprising because Beijing has long exerted pressure on politicians who maintain ties to Taiwan. He emphasized: "China has no right to intimidate members of the European Parliament, nor does it have the right to interfere in our parliamentary duties."

Krutilek believes that China’s move is a systematic attempt to prevent European politicians from cooperating with Taiwan, and European parliamentarians should not back down because of this. He also emphasized that although the EU should maintain pragmatic dialogue with China, it should not be at the expense of developing relations with Taiwan.

Citing the Czech experience as an example, Krutilek said that cooperation with Taiwan has brought investment and employment opportunities to the Czech Republic; in comparison, China has mostly failed to fulfill its promises in related aspects.

Marketa Gregorova, another Czech MEP who belongs to the Pirates party, arrived in Beijing with a delegation of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee at the end of October. She was stopped and detained by the Chinese authorities for about one and a half hours. She was the only member of the 15-member delegation to encounter this situation.

Glova said that despite holding a diplomatic passport and a formal invitation letter, Chinese officials refused to explain the reasons for the detention and banned her from using her mobile phone. She first waited at the passport control office for about an hour, and then was taken to a room where several police officers were present, where she stayed for about 30 minutes.

In a recent interview with the media, Glova said that the reason for her detention is still unclear. She does not rule out that the incident may be related to a Chinese citizen suspected of engaging in espionage in the Czech Republic. However, there is currently no evidence to confirm that the two are related. She has asked China for clarification and plans to report it to the leadership of the European Parliament.

In addition, Tomas Zdechovsky, a Czech member of the European People's Party (EPP), accused Chinese state media of incorrectly using his name and crediting the speech of another Czech European member Ondrej Dostal with his name.

Duesta recently went to Beijing to attend a forum on behalf of the Czech far-left political party "Stacilo!" (Enough!). When China Global Television Network (CGTN) and China Radio International (CRI) reported the content of Dusta's interview, they mistakenly labeled Dai Hodge's name, leading the outside world to mistakenly believe that Dai Hodge had praised China's digital technology and urban governance model. Related content was subsequently circulated on social media.

Dyhoch believes that this may not be a simple editing error, but a conscious manipulation of information. He stressed that it was unacceptable for Chinese state media to misuse his name and attribute words to his name that had never been said. He also believed that the incident reflected China's broader operation of trying to influence the European information space.

Dehoch plans to refer the matter to the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) of the European Parliament and further handle it by questioning the European Commission. He has also reported it to the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic.

These three incidents respectively involved diplomatic pressure, personal control and media information manipulation, and also brought renewed attention to the relationship between China and members of the European Parliament.