‘I am a Taipei citizen,’ mayor of Prague says

Even on the last day of his Taiwan stay, the mayor of Prague kept a full itinerary. Besides meeting with his Taipei counterpart, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib sat down to take questions from Taiwan media. Let''s hear him in his own words.

In the hours before his departure, the mayor of Prague sat down to meet the press and take questions about his six-day Taiwan visit.

Zdenek Hrib
Prague mayor
This week was a very, very busy week. We had a lot of meetings. The meetings with representatives of China Airlines. We were informed they are very interested in operating a direct line from Taipei to Prague as soon as the COVID-19 situation is over.

He expressed hope that the Industrial Technology Research Institute would set up an office in the Czech Republic. Hrib also announced that the Prague Philharmonic would visit next October to play three concerts, in northern, central, and southern Taiwan.

Zdenek Hrib
Prague mayor
This was their personal courage. They decided to keep their values instead of the economical benefits.

He was asked about China’s political intimidation over the Czech delegation’s visit. Hrib called it “completely unacceptable.” He said he believed his delegation’s visit could play a leading role in Europe.

Zdenek Hrib
Prague mayor
In that the personal threats against the president of the senate, Milos Vystrcil, about the heavy price he has to pay, ah, they are completely unacceptable and I’m glad that European countries also feel the same way, namely the president of Slovakia and also the representatives of Germany and France.

Turning to his senate speaker’s proclamation, “I am Taiwanese,” the mayor of Prague was not to be outdone.

Zdenek Hrib
Prague mayor
I would like to point out that I am actually a Taipei citizen, because I have received honorary citizenship during my last visit and the certificate is hanging in my office. So if I would say I am a Taipei citizen. It would not be a political support message. It would be rather a description of the reality.

After the press event, Hrib headed to Shangri-La Hotel to meet Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je. To celebrate the impending fatherhood of a tapir given by Prague Zoo, Taipei is sending a pair of pangolins to Prague. On Friday, Mayor Ko presented two stuffed animals to his Prague counterpart to symbolize the friendship between their cities.

Zdenek Hrib
Prague mayor
I believe that the biggest, the deepest, the warmest feeling was when I saw those two pangolins in the Taipei Zoo, who are going for their Prague stay. That was the most touching moment of this visit for me personally.

Ko Wen-je
Taipei mayor
Mayor Hrib actually has lived in Taiwan before. That is why he feels such friendship for Taiwan. So as far as Taipei is concerned, he’s one of ours forever. That’s no problem.

Zdenek Hrib
Prague mayor
Well I’m not here as a representative of the Czech country. I’m not here as a representative of the Prague city. Besides being nonpolitical, the partnership has to be mutually beneficial, and the partners need to treat each other with respect. And I’m very glad that this is the case of the sister city’s agreement between Prague and Taipei.

The two sides struck consensus on future exchanges in education, culture, and tourism. Mayor Ko also announced a gift of more than 100,000 face masks to the city of Prague, in anticipation of continued exchanges in disease prevention.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of face masks Taipei City will donate to Prague. It's 100,800, not 10,000.