捷中關係裡的中國銳實力探討 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學亞太研究英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in Asia Pacific Studies College of Social Sciences National Chengchi University. 碩士論文. 治政 Master’s Thesis 大立 ‧ 國. 學 ‧. 捷中關係裡的中國銳實力探討. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Chinese Sharp Power in the Czech-Sino Relations. i n U. Ch. v. e n g cAvrat h i 福爾泰 Student: Frantisek Advisor: Su Cho-Hsin Ph.D.. 中華民國 109 年 7 月 July 2020. 1 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(2) Abstract This thesis is looking at the Czech Chinese relations between 2013 and 2020 which were restarted in 2013 by Czech president Milos Zeman in a very naïve and open way. Because of that during those years, the People's Republic of China was able to exercise Sharp power in the Czech Republic in political-economic, medial, and academic spheres. Done so by the PRC to achieve its goals as defined by the Sharp power concept it also consequentially distorted democracy in the Czech Republic. Therefore, this thesis first is looking at the Czech Chinese relations from which it shows how the usage of the sharp power by the PRC distorts Czech democracy and on those instances, using the concept of paradox of tolerance, this thesis argues for the need to change the interaction with the PRC in the spheres where the Sharp power is active and thus presents possible. 治政 society. This thesis concludes that in the political-economic大 sphere the Czech statesmen should 立 consult their policies towards the PRC with experts especially from academia and passing the law tools which the Czech Republic can employ to defend itself without losing the values of an open. ‧ 國. 學. aimed at limits of foreign investments into strategic industries. In the media sphere, this work concludes there is no space for the creation of systemic tools as it would have an impact on the. ‧. freedom of speech. The only tool that seems available is to inform consumers about the founding. sit. y. Nat. of media having a connection to the PRC. In the academic sphere, the viable tool is to establish a body under the ministry of education helping Czech universities and other academic institutions. io. n. al. er. with risk assessment when considering a partnership with their Chinese counterparts.. iv. C Republic of China, Keywords: The Czech Republic, the People's U n Czech Chinese relations, Sharp power, Paradox of Tolerance. hengchi. 2 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(3) Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 2 List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Research Background ........................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Research Motivation and Purpose ...................................................................................... 10 1.3 Research Question .............................................................................................................. 12 1.4 Research Method ................................................................................................................ 13 1.5 Scope and Limitations......................................................................................................... 15. 政治大. 1.6 Chapters Arrangements ....................................................................................................... 17. 立. Chapter 2. Literature review ......................................................................................................... 19. ‧ 國. 學. 2.1 Concept of Power ................................................................................................................ 19. ‧. 2.1.1 Hard power................................................................................................................... 19 2.1.2 Soft power .................................................................................................................... 21. y. Nat. er. io. sit. 2.1.3 Sharp power ................................................................................................................. 23 2.2 Paradox of Tolerance .......................................................................................................... 26. n. al. iv. n 2.2.1 Tolerance and Open SocietyC ........................................................................................ 26 hengchi U. 2.2.2 Paradox ........................................................................................................................ 28 2.2.3 Democracy ................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 3 Theoretical Framework of Sharp Power ...................................................................... 37 3.1 Agents of Sharp Power ....................................................................................................... 37 3.2 Spheres of Influence ........................................................................................................... 39 3.2.1 Culture.......................................................................................................................... 40 3.2.2 Academia ..................................................................................................................... 41 3.2.3 Publishing .................................................................................................................... 42. 3 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(4) 3.2.4 Media ........................................................................................................................... 43 3.2.5 Chinese diaspora .......................................................................................................... 44 3.2.6 Political sphere ............................................................................................................. 45 3.2.7 Economy ...................................................................................................................... 46 3.3 Goals of Chinese Sharp power ............................................................................................ 47 Chapter 4 Czech Chinese Relations .............................................................................................. 49 4.1 2010 – 2013 - U-Turn in Czech Foreign Policy ................................................................. 49 4.2 2014 – 2016 - Bathe me in those Chinese Money Baby! ................................................... 51 4.3 2017 – Sobering up ............................................................................................................. 57. 政治大. 4.4 2018 – House of Cards Falling Apart ................................................................................. 60. 立. 4.5 2019 – How Deep Does the Rabbit Hole Go? .................................................................... 65. ‧ 國. 學. 4.6 2020 – Masks Here, Masks There, Masks Everywhere ...................................................... 75. ‧. 4.7 Timeline .............................................................................................................................. 79. sit. y. Nat. Chapter 5 Empirical Evidence ...................................................................................................... 86. io. er. 5.1 Politics and economics ........................................................................................................ 86. al. 5.2 Media .................................................................................................................................. 94. n. iv n C 5.3 Academia .......................................................................................................................... 104 hengchi U Chapter 6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 113 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 116 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................... 145 Appendix A Filip Jirous Skype Interview .............................................................................. 145 A1 English Transcript ......................................................................................................... 145 A2 Czech Transcript ........................................................................................................... 157 Appendix B Tomas Etzler Skype Interview ........................................................................... 170 B1 English Transcript ......................................................................................................... 170. 4 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(5) B2 Czech Transcript ........................................................................................................... 181 Appendix C Bao Do Written Interview .................................................................................. 193 Appendix D Hana Do Written Interview ................................................................................ 198 D1 English Transcript ......................................................................................................... 198 D2 Czech Transcript ........................................................................................................... 202. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 5 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(6) List of Abbreviations ANO - Akce nespokojených občanů, Action of dissatisfied citizens BIS – Bezpečnostní Informační Služba, The Security Information Service BRI – Belt and Road Initiative CAIFC - China Association for Friendly International Contact CAMP - culture, academia, media, and publishing CCP – Chinese Communist Party CCPPD - Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China. 政治大. CCPPNR - China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification CCTV – China Central Television. 立. ‧ 國. 學. CEFC – CEFC China Energy. ‧. CEM - Central European Media. sit. n. al. er. io. CGTN - China Global Television Network CI - Confucius Institute. Ch. y. Nat. CFISS - China Foundation for International Strategic Studies. engchi. i n U. v. CICIR - China Institute of Contemporary International Relations CIISS - China Institute for International Strategic Studies CITIC – China International Trust Investment Corporation CME – Central European Media Enterprises CNB – Česká Národní Banka, Czech National Bank CPDS - Centre for Peace and Development Studies CSSD – Česká Strana Sociálně Demokratická, Czech Social Democratic Party CTK – Česká Tisková Kancelář – Czech Press Office 6 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(7) CUSEF - China-US Exchange Foundation EPB - External Propaganda Bureau EU – European Union ILD - International Liaison Department NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NÚKIB - Národní Úřad pro Kybernetickou a Informační Bezpečnost, National Cyber and Information Security Agency OBOR – One Belt One Road. 政治大. OCAO - Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council. 立. ODS - Občanská demokratická strana, The Civic Democratic Party. ‧ 國. 學. PLA - People's Liberation Army. ‧. PM – Prime Minister. sit. y. Nat. PRC - People's Republic of China. io. al. n. SOE – State-Owned Enterprise. er. SAIS - School of Advanced International Studies. Ch. UFWF - United Front Work Department. engchi. i n U. v. UN – United Nations USA -United States of America VSFS - Vysoká Škola Finanční a správní, University of Finance and Administration WTO – World Trade Organization. 7 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(8) Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Research Background The Czech Republic became an independent country after the Velvet revolution in 1989 and followed the partition of Czechoslovakia which took effect on the 1st of January 1993. Now the independent Czech Republic could create its own foreign policy which was in the direction of the necessary changes to be able to join the free market and other international communities. The most important being joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, joining the North Atlantic. Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1997, and then in 2014 joining the European Union. Even though the Czech Republic was now free to create its foreign policy and was no longer forced to listen to the Soviets, it nonetheless chose to keep the official ties with the People's Republic of. 政治大. China as was the norm among all major western countries, although the relations were not cordial. 立. at all due to the first Czech president Vaclav Havel who used to be a dissident and as a president,. ‧ 國. 學. he was very outspoken about the human rights and a personal friend of His Holiness Dalai Lama as well as his support for Taiwan rejoining the UN.. ‧. The People's Republic of China started to emerge as an important international player in the 1980's. sit. y. Nat. with its economic reforms. With its growing economic importance came the acceptance to the international community which was finalized in 2001 when it officially became a member of the. io. n. a. er. WTO. From the early 2000s to 2011 China's GDP was growing on average by 10% each year. This. v. i modernization, and bigger economy might also project itself l into military spending,narms. Ch. U. e n gArmy professionalization of the People's Liberation c h i (PLA). The military and economy. traditionally belong to the “hard power” sphere. Hard power defined by Joseph Jr. Nye is an ability to use a combination of military and economic might – sticks and carrots to make others do what you want them to do.1 Accumulation of PRC's hard power was an ongoing process that continues to present day and with Xi Jinping taking power in 2013 and changing the national narrative from: “Hide your capacities, bide your time” defined by Deng Xiaoping to: “Striving for Achievement” projection of Chinese hard power is more visible in recent years in areas like the South China Sea.. 1. NYE, Joseph. Propaganda Isn't the Way: Soft Power. [online]. International Herald Tribune, 2003. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/10/opinion/IHT-soft-power-propaganda-isnt-the-way.html. [visited: 18.2.2020].. 8 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(9) From the early 2000s, PRC started to work on building up its soft power as well. Nye defines soft power as the opposite of hard power. Where hard power is to make others do what you want, soft power is to make others want to do what you want as well. According to him, this is done by the state capturing so-called soft power resources that come from the state’s values, organizations, policies that promote these values, and culture which arises from free civil society.2 Therefore the government can either reinforce or jeopardize one's soft power by arrogant, hypocritical behavior in the international community.3 In the case of PRC, activities like support for Confucius institutes from 2004, the organization of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, contribution to peacekeeping initiatives under the United Nations (UN) framework, promoting its economic development, and others were seen as an attempt to utilize soft power. These and similar activities belong to the regular public diplomacy sphere serving as a promotion of one’s country.. 政治大 As was discussed before, the Czech Chinese relations since the 90s were not the warmest due to 立 the Vaclav Havel and general orientation of the Czech foreign policy towards the emphasis on. ‧ 國. 學. human rights. But that started to change during the late 2010s, and the year 2013 marks an official change in the Czech Chinese relations. That year Milos Zeman was elected as a president of the. ‧. Czech Republic and in PRC Xi Jinping took power as a General Party Secretary of the Chinese. sit. y. Nat. Communist Party. When Xi announced his One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR), later renamed to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Milos Zeman became a public supporter of warming Chinese. io. n. a. er. Czech relations and campaigned for more economic cooperation. Zeman and his turn towards the. v. PRC were criticized by many expertsl as there was no consideration n i of the specifics of the Chinese. Ch. U. e n g c this h i incredible wealth will just start to flow regime and viewed it as naïve to think that somehow to the Czech Republic. Nonetheless, huge investments by Chinese enterprises were promised as well as the opening of the Chinese market to Czech companies. Direct flight connections between Prague and major Chinese cities were established to promote tourism and additional scholarships were offered to Czech students to study the Chinese language in China. But in 2016 it started to be obvious that this very open, warm, and even naïve approach to PRC from the Czech side would not payout. Chinese state-own enterprise (SOE) CEFC China Energy. 2. NYE, Joseph. Soft Power the Means to Success in World Politics/ [online]. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/28699788/Soft_Power_the_Means_to_Success_in_World_Politics__Joseph_S._Nye_Jr. ISBN 13-978-1-58648-306-7. [visited: 20.2.2020]. Page 7. 3 Ibid, Page 14.. 9 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(10) Company Limited (CEFC) which was labeled as a flagship for Chinese investments in the Czech Republic, and in broader sphere CEFC also was part of BRI, had come to attention as its CEO Ye Jianming was arrested in China for corruption and its vice-chairman Patrick Ho was arrested in New York in 2017 for bribing the president of Chad on behalf of CEFC. The lack of promised investments was apparent more and more every year and the promised opening of the Chinese market to the Czech companies did not happen as well. Other issues that came to light such as Chinese influence in media, politics, and academia together with the increasing warnings from the security community against the Chinese activities brought attention to Chinese presence in the Czech Republic. Even though problems of the promised Chinese investments and Chinese influence activities are. 政治大 ways open and naïve as in 2013. Therefore, this thesis aims to explore possible directions that the 立 Czech Republic can take and what tools it can employ to be able to continue its relationship with. known, any significant change did not occur as the approach towards the PRC remains in many. ‧ 國. 學. PRC on a more balanced base and protect itself from the Chinese sharp power at the same time without losing its openness.. ‧. 1.2 Research Motivation and Purpose. y. Nat. sit. The motivation of this thesis is that because the so-called restart of the Czech Chinese relations. er. io. initiated in 2013 was done in a very open way from the side of the Czech Republic without any. n. a consideration of the nature of the Chinese Communist Party, its vtactics and its goals. The Czech l. ni. C hsolely by economic side responsible for the restart was driven i U interests. This was criticized at the e ngch. beginning by many experts since this open approach towards the PRC might be dangerous and it would be naïve to think that PRC would not want anything back for all that money it intended to invest in the Czech Republic. But it was dismissed as the promise of economic growth and wealth. had bigger importance. When it became apparent that the Chinese capital would not be flowing to the Czech Republic as promised, other issues concerning the Czech Chinese interaction came to light as well. Experts, and later on the mainstream media, started to point out that the Chinese activities in the Czech Republic are not regular public diplomacy or just plain economic investments. This phenomenon is connected with Christopher Walker who noted in his research that some of these activities conducted by the authoritarian regimes of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of. 10 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(11) China that at first glance appear as they come from grassroots associations or as a form of soft power and parts of public diplomacy are in fact using local actors for conducting government propaganda. This and other tactics Walker labels as “Sharp power” as the purpose is not to win the hearts and minds as it is the goal of soft power but more to manipulate others, by poisoning the information stream. Sharp power essentially works like a knife to cut, into society and amplify already-existing division, penetrating political and social environment in the target country using manipulation and co-optation while masking it for standard public diplomacy strategy and soft power techniques.4 Similar tactics employ not only authoritarian regimes of Russia and PRC but other authoritarian countries do too as well as liberal democracies all around the world differing in the scope, funds, and targets. Practices like these do not belong only to the state actors but private international corporations do the same to secure their businesses. In the case of the Czech. 政治大. Republic domestic and international actors, private and state actors, liberal and authoritarian actors. 立. all have their interests which might differ in the sphere of influence scope and goals, but the term. ‧ 國. 學. Sharp power only refers to the authoritarian regimes of PRC and Russia and this thesis is concerned only with the Chinese one in the Czech Republic.. ‧. The naivety connected with the restart of the Czech Chinese relations and followed the execution. y. Nat. of the Sharp power in the Czech Republic brings this thesis to the Paradox of Tolerance defined. io. sit. by Karl Popper. It states that “if we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant,. n. a. er. if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the. v. i l with them.”5 As wasnmentioned tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance prior, the restart of the. Ch. U. eng h i open even naïve way in other words in Czech Chinese relations in 2013 was established in c a very a very tolerant way towards the PRC and its regime. In time as the interaction with the PRC continued the issues emerged along with corrosive effects in the Czech Republic as well. With the gained influence of the PRC in the Czech Republic, the environment became distorted and. 4. WALKER Ch., LUDWIG J., CARDENAL J. P., KUCHARCZYK J., MASEZNIKOV G., PLESCHOVA G. Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence: New Forum Report. [online]. National Endowment for Democracy, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Sharp-Power-Rising-Authoritarian-InfluenceFull-Report.pdf. [visited: 20.2.2020]. Page 6. 5 POPPER, Karl. The Open Society and Its Enemies. [online]. Routledge & Kegan Paul Plc, 1966. Retrieved from: https://monoskop.org/images/5/5f/Popper_Karl_The_Open_Society_and_Its_Enemies_Vols_1-2_5th_ed.pdf. ISBN 0-691-01968-1. [visited: 20.2.2020]. Page 543.. 11 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(12) corroded by the Chinese sharp power activities, in other words the tolerant would be destroyed by the intolerant. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to first look at the warming up the Chinese–Czech Relations and then their later development. At the same time look at Chinese activities in the Czech Republic in various spheres ranging from economy, politics, media to academia, therefore the ones corresponding with the targets of the sharp power. Explore how the specific spheres were impacted by the Chinese sharp power and therefore examine the way how the Czech Republic can defend. itself against the Chinese sharp power. To do that, using the paradox of tolerance, the way is to stop tolerating the Chinese, in other words, by redefining the relations by drawing new lines in the Czech Chinese relations. But it cannot be done at the expense of our own liberal values of openness. 政治大 are limited in the PRC, it would automatically become a closed society like the PRC. 立. because if the Czech Republic ought to limit Chinese webpages the same way Czech webpages. ‧ 國. 學. The People's Republic of China is a major country that cannot be omitted from the international community. That is why the cooperation between the PRC and the Czech Republic should continue. ‧. as both countries no matter the size has many things they can offer to each other in terms of culture,. trade, and science. But as the new information concerning Chinese influence in Czech politics,. Nat. sit. y. business and academia are coming out almost every month, not just from a journalist but the. er. io. intelligence agencies as well, the need for new rules for engaging with PRC is becoming more and. n. more apparent but it cannot be donea on expense of liberal values.. 1.3 Research Question. iv l C n hengchi U. This research thesis is looking at the Czech Chinese relations which were opened in a very naïve (tolerant) way because the motivation was driven by economic interests. Because of that, the PRC was able to exercise a certain form of Sharp power in the Czech Republic which led to a corrosive effect in the spheres that sharp power aims at such as academia, media, etc. Therefore, this work argues that this naïve way (tolerant way) has to be stopped as the paradox of tolerance says, and Czech Chinese interaction has to be redefined accordingly. This means new lines have to be drawn especially in those areas where China is exercising the Sharp power without becoming intolerant by bluntly cutting off any relationship with the PRC. For those reasons, this thesis aims to answer two research questions.. 12 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(13) The first and main research question is concerning the open approach of the Czech Republic towards the PRC and its followed execution of the sharp power and its impact on the Czech Republic: Does the Chinese exercise of Sharp power in the Czech Republic lead to the distortion of the democracy? To find possible ways for the Czech Republic how to defend against the Chinese sharp power, this thesis operates with the second research question: What tools can the Czech Republic employ to combat Chinese influence activities in the Czech Republic while maintaining its openness in terms. of the values of an open society?. 1.4 Research Method To answer the two research questions with which this thesis operates it uses an interpretive. 政治大. approach. It is very similar to qualitative research as this thesis is not working with any. 立. numerological data but is relying on word-based data mainly gained from the interviews. This. ‧ 國. 學. approach puts the meaning-making actions of individual actors or groups into the center of the research. Then analytically disclosing those meaning-making practices, while showing how those. ‧. practices configure to generate observable outcomes. In other words, this method starts with data. and tries to derive a theory about the phenomenon of interest from the observed data which is. y. Nat. sit. opposite to the positivist method, where the researcher starts with a theory and tests theoretical. er. io. postulates using empirical data. This research method is suitable for this research as this thesis is. n. looking at the action of the actorsa in the Czech Chinese relations. v The topic of international. l. ni. C hare highly contextual relations and political sphere and others i U rather than isolationist therefore e ngch. interpretive analysis is much more suitable. It is suitable especially for the main research question as in social science changes in the society or this case of democracy cannot be quantified very well or almost at all.6 Therefore, by looking at the main event in the Czech Chinese relations in seven. years and their outcomes the thesis will interpret their importance for the democracy in terms of qualitative changes or possible changes if the trends would be ongoing in the future. That will provide for the need to answer the second research question and come up with possible recommendations on how to mitigate the Chinese sharp power in the Czech Republic.. 6. PEZL, Bill. Research Methods for Social Sciences: Chapter 12 Interpretive Research. [online]. Herkimer College, 2020. Retrieved from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-research-methods/chapter/chapter-12interpretive-research/. [visited: 15.5.2020].. 13 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(14) The research was conducted through analysis of primary and secondary literature together with the in-depth and written interviews. The literature review firstly focuses on the concept of power. Using the work of Joseph Nye concerning hard and soft power helps to layout the ground foundation to a better understanding of sharp power coined by Christopher Walker as sharp power employs tactics of hard power, partially posing as soft power. Then the literature review is looking at the Paradox of Tolerance coined by 20th century philosopher Karl Popper. This paradox states that unlimited tolerance must lead to the. disappearance of tolerance because if the unlimited tolerance is extended to those who are intolerant they will eventually destroy the tolerant one and tolerance with them. This paradox serves as a catalyst for a debate where the lines of tolerance should be drawn but it poses the threat. 政治大 tolerance and open society as well. Using works of Mill, Locke, Jefferson, and others who already 立 toyed with this dilemma, just under different names serve to this thesis as a guideline to navigate that in drawing lines the tolerant will become intolerant. Therefore, this part is looking at the term. ‧ 國. 學. the pen in drawing the line. Because the first research question aims to provide data on whether the Chinese sharp power distorts democracy in the Czech Republic the literature review is also. ‧. looking at the definition of democracy. This thesis is using the definition of democracy proposed. sit. y. Nat. by Kimber.. er. io. To gain a deep understanding of the Czech Chinese relations and Chinese influence activities in the country, the third chapter of thisa work will look at Chinese activities in the Czech Republic. It. n. iv l C n will be done by a compilation methodh of primary and e n g c h i U secondary literature to provide a chronological development of Chinese-Czech relations from its restart in 2013 till the present day. The year 2013 was chosen as the time when Milos Zeman took the presidential office in the Czech Republic and announced the restart and also at the similar time Xi Jinping took power in the PRC. and he directed the country more outward with his Belt and Road Initiative to which the Czech Republic under the president Zeman joined. This section is using media articles as relations develop until the beginning of 2020. This section will heavily rely on news articles. As there is more information available in Czech language media this thesis will try to mitigate its usage by using English language sources if available. Using this method this chapter will illustrate the development of Chinese-Czech interaction and on specific events demonstrates the presence and specifics of Chinese influence activates in the country. Afterward, this thesis offers a timeline of. 14 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(15) all important milestones in the Czech Chinese relations starting in 2004 until 2020. This timeline recapitulates all the events from the previous parts and serves to a reader to orient better in such a long period and many events with which this thesis works. Having a theoretical foundation and systematically organized Czech Chinese relations, this thesis will conduct in-depth interviews with the people from the spheres which are vulnerable to any influenced activities. From academia, media-publishing, politics to culture. Interviews will be conducted over the internet call or email. This work aims to interview four individuals.. The first person to interview is Filip Jirouš who works for the Prague-based Sinopsis, focusing on China’s United Front work in the Czech Republic, Xinjiang, and Digital Leninism. He studies Sinology at Charles University in Prague.. 政治大. Tomas Etzler is a television journalist with 27 years of experience. He worked as a correspondent. 立. for CNN from 2000 to 2007. He spent 4 years covering stories in war zones of Afghanistan and. ‧ 國. 學. Iraq. From 2007 he moved to PRC as a correspondent from Czech Television until 2014. Another one is Hana Do. She studied sinology at Charles University. Since her studies, she works. ‧. as a translator for China Center Z. S. and Skoda Auto and other institutions for which she provides. sit. y. Nat. her translating expertise. Since 2017 she started to translate Chinese literature to the Czech. er. io. language. Her last translation was Ball Lighting (球状闪电, Kulovy blesk) by Lui Cixin.. n. a. v. i and lived there for two years l C visited China sincen2011 The last person is Bao Do. He has regularly. U. h. i g c h manager as part of his studies. Currently, he works asea n program for China Tours and sometimes leads the tours to PRC himself as a tour guide. His other occupation is as a translator working with major Czech companies like Skoda Auto.. 1.5 Scope and Limitations As was stated in the previous parts, this thesis focuses on the Chinese sharp power and its effect on democracy in the Czech Republic. It is important to note that there are many reasons why democracy in the Czech Republic is degrading. The People's Republic of China is not the only actor responsible for this trend. There are many actors not only foreign but domestic as well. In the case of the Czech domestic actors, there are those coming from the private and public sphere. The private companies have their own profit in mind and always will act upon this premise which. 15 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(16) through corruption or excessive lobbying can have an impact on the democracy in the country. The public sphere can be connected with the private sector as some public figures will accept bribes or, on the other hand, will offer public projects to their friends and families and their respective companies. This type of behavior has an impact on the general democracy in the Czech Republic. A similar thing can be said about the foreign private companies operating in the Czech Republic as well. From the perspective of the foreign state actors, there is a general difference between the same. minded countries, in other words democratic allied states such as other European countries, and then authoritarian countries such as the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. It is only natural that both groups will have their own interest in the Czech Republic equal to their. 政治大 have at their disposal might be different or sometimes they might be the same, but it is apparent 立 that in their attempts to execute their will this will have an impact on the Czech democracy as well.. needs and both groups will attempt to exercise their power. In some cases, the tools they might. ‧ 國. 學. How the scale of the impact differs is of no importance but the point is that pressures on the democracy come from all sides and within, and there is no single entity responsible for the. ‧. distortion as a whole. Therefore, tackling this topic as a whole would need an enormous amount. sit. y. Nat. of time and resources, and this thesis chooses only one of many actors, the People's Republic of China, its activities, and its following impact in the Czech Republic as would be the appropriate. io. er. amount given the size of the master’s thesis.. al. n. iv n C The limitation of this thesis is the limitedhaccess to the information as it can only rely on public engchi U information. For example, when relying on the information from the secret services, they released only the part of the information to the public, and any other information that could be important was classified, therefore this thesis relies heavily on the newspaper articles and the work of. investigative reporters. Here lies the limitation as today the objectivity of the media is problematic everywhere. Therefore, this thesis in the majority uses the articles published by the Czech National Television which is a public-service media paid directly by the people to the agency and is not owned by an individual or a company. The investigative journalists, whose work this thesis uses, do work for privately-owned media and here the problem of objectivity can arise, but their work and the media they work for are considered to be one of the most independent in the Czech Republic.. 16 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(17) As was said prior this thesis due to its size, resources, and time capabilities of the author cannot provide a holistic answer regarding the degradation of the democracy in the Czech Republic but can only look at the Chinese sharp power as a contributing factor to it and offer possible recommendations in order to add to a debate on how to rebalance the Czech Chinese relations without cutting PRC out completely doing so by using the Paradox of Tolerance in the sphere of international relations as a theoretical foundation for this need.. 1.6 Chapters Arrangements 1. Introduction a. Motivation and Purpose b. Methodology. 立. 2. Concept of Power. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. a. Hard Power b. Soft Power. ‧. c. Sharp Power. y. Nat. a. Chinese agencies ofaSharp power. iv l C n Spheres of influence proneh toe Sharp power ngchi U n. b.. er. io. sit. 3. Theoretical Framework of Sharp power. c. Goals of Chinese Sharp power 4. The Paradox of Tolerance a. Tolerance and Open Society b. Paradox c. Democracy 5. China and the Czech Republic a. Background to Czech Chinese relations from 2013 to 2020. 17 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(18) b. Timeline 6. Discussion a. Political and Economic b. Media c. Academia d. Distortion of democracy e. Defensive tools. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 18 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(19) Chapter 2. Literature review 2.1 Concept of Power Power is fundamental for international relations. The earliest conceptualization of power comes from realists like Hans Morgenthau taken over by later ones in the 80s and 90s like Kenneth Waltz and John Mearsheimer who connected power to tangible things such as geography, wealth and military. Therefore at that time research concerning power solely focused on the superpowers and other strong states as the weak ones did not pose enough tangible sources to portray power.7 With. the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the 21st century, the approach to who holds the power changed as the view of power tangibility changed from geography, military and wealth to relations, culture, smaller states, and transnational organizations like the United Nations and various NGOs. 政治大 called Soft power presented by Joseph Nye branded the previous realist view as hard power. In 立. became relevant actors in the power debate as well.8 This new concept of non-tangible power 2017 Christopher Walker coined a new term of “Sharp power” as a new type of power. He argues. ‧ 國. 學. that it is mainly employed by Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China focusing on projecting state power towards democratic countries could no longer be described as soft power. ‧. either hard power9 therefore for better understanding it is important to look at hard and soft power. y. sit er. io. 2.1.1 Hard power. Nat. first.. n. a is an ability to use a combination According to Joseph Nye, hard power of military and economic iv. l C n might – sticks and carrots in order to make you want them to do.10 This was very h others e n gdoc what hi U. easy to do in the past when economies of countries were not interdependent and the use of force was a more acceptable solution to disagreements among state actors. Nye in his work Soft power. 7. MATTERN, Janice Bially. The Concept of power and the (un) Discipline of International Relations. [online]. The Oxfords Handbook of International Relations, 2008. Retrieved from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/7003025/The%20Concept%20of%20Power.pdf. [visited: 23.2.2020]. Page 683. 8 CRAWFORD, C. Neta. Argument and Change in World Politics. [online]. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Retrieved from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/argument-and-change-in-worldpolitics/6FB2DA4D8A879C0F0584D41BCF555DC2. [visited: 23.2.2020]. Page 67. 9 WALKER, Christopher and LUDWIG, Jessica. “Soft Power” to “Sharp Power”: Rising Authoritarian Influence in the Democratic World. [online]. National Endowment for Democracy, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.ned.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Introduction-Sharp-Power-Rising-Authoritarian-Influence.pdf. [visited: 23.2.2020]. Page 6. 10 NYE, Joseph. Propaganda Isn't the Way: Soft Power. [visited: 16.12.2019].. 19 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(20) which was published in 1990 points out a very important change in the world. First thing is that sheer military power cannot be transferred equally to other spheres such as economic, environment, etc. If that would be the case nothing would change and the military might would correctly predict the world hierarchy. But in the 90s and even more today military power is costlier and even less transferable. Reason Nye offers is that world of politics after the Cold war is more fragmented into various spheres which makes powerless transferable. 11 Nye not only points out fragmentation but a new trend of power diffusion as well. In the post-Cold. War, world power is being diffused from all the great powers. This development in his view is caused by many trends while he puts out five major ones: economic interdependence, transnational actors, nationalism in weak states, the spread of technology, and changing political issues.12 New. 政治大 the international business has become a huge part of countries’ economies and made international 立 companies new power actors in today's world enabling them to have an impact on one's national. technologies of transport and communication have a huge impact on economic interdependence as. ‧ 國. 學. interest. As an example of this Nye presents how American officials were pressuring Europe to open its market to Japanese automobiles produced in the USA. This de facto means that. ‧. transnational investment has directed impact and therefore shaped the American interest.13. Nat. sit. y. Modernization and urbanization has an impact on society as a whole meaning that this modern. er. io. society will react more harshly towards the usage of military power, making it costlier for a specific government. Spread of modern technology means many developing countries are now able to put a. n. iv l C n up a bigger fight as they developed significant industries thus making a regional intervention h e arms ngchi U costlier now than in the 1950s. Last but not least is the change in the nature of political issues. Many world issues are no longer being one state against another but are of a global character that requires cooperation in order to produce comprehensive solutions. Therefore pure military power. is not a valid solution here.14. 11. NYE, Joseph. Soft power. [online]. Washington Post, 1990. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1148580. [visited: 16.12.2019]. Page 159. 12 Ibid, [visited: 16.12.2019]. Page 160. 13 Ibid, [visited: 16.12.2019]. Page 161. 14 Ibid, [visited: 16.12.2019]. Page 163.. 20 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(21) 2.1.2 Soft power These changes and severe consequences suggest a new way of how to exercise power. Instead of ordering other countries what to do the second possibility is to get other countries to want the same thing. This Nye calls co-optive or soft power. Today the term “soft power” is wildly spread therefore this thesis will be using “soft power”.15 As military capacity and economic might are main sources for hard power, for soft power there are three primary sources: culture, political values, and foreign policies. Nye separates culture into a high culture such as literature, art together with education which is especially appealing to elites and the second type is popular culture focusing on masses. If culture is also a carrier of universal values and policies that others share, then it can generate soft power due to the relationship of attraction.16. 政治大 impact on the preferences of others. In the past, it was for example the Soviet Union who benefited 立 from the appeal of communist ideology of social equality or the myth of inevitability. After the Political values that country is favoring at home as well as in its actions abroad have a strong 17. ‧ 國. 學. Cold war, the perception has changed and championed values shifted towards democracy, promotion of peace and human rights as well as participation in international institutions and. ‧. working well with others.18. Nat. sit. y. The third currency of soft power is governmental policies both domestic and more important. er. io. foreign. Domestic policies such as segregation laws in the USA after WWII damaged American soft power in Africa or today capital a punishment, weak gun control laws are undermining. n. iv l C n American soft power in European countries. policies are affecting soft power in the same h eForeign ngchi U way and maybe even more. For example, US human rights policies increased soft power in 1990's Argentina when Peronists came to power even though two decades earlier those same policies were refused as the military junta was in charge of Argentina.19 On the other hand, in the early. 2000s, American soft power declined due to the war in Iraq as many opposed it. In general. 15. NYE, Joseph. Soft power. [visited: 16.12.2019]. Page 166. NYE, Joseph. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 11. 17 NYE, Joseph. Soft power. [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 167. 18 NYE, Joseph. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 14. 19 Ibid, [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 13. 16. 21 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(22) according to Nye if domestic or foreign policies are hypocritical, arrogant, and don’t consider others or are based on a narrow approach to the national interest they will damage soft power.20 It is important to realize though that unlike hard power which assets are under government control such as military or others like national resources that are national, soft power is not. The popular culture created in Hollywood is under no circumstances under Washington’s control therefore many parts of soft power are standing separately from government. Sometimes they are in alignment and sometimes they are opposing governmental direction.21 What is crucial to note is. the separation of government and soft power and contrasting views that might occur in the same country. As Hollywood in its creations often promotes things like consumerism, sex, and violence, on the other hand, the same piece of creation might also promote, upward mobility, freedom, and. 政治大 young people, on the other hand, will watch these smuggled Hollywood films showing both 立 sides. gender equality. Because of that Iranian officials might portray America as a “great Satan” but 22. ‧ 國. 學. Soft power is often criticized, especially by realists, for main two reasons. First is that because it. ‧. is not under government control, as Nye points out, main sources of American soft power come. from Harvard, Michael Jordan, Hollywood, and Apple but the fact that it is all produced by civil. Nat. sit. y. society does not disprove its existence and exactly because of its source governments should create. er. io. their policies in alignment with them to reinforce the soft power as he stresses that government cannot and should not control the culture. a 23. n. iv l C n The second criticism he addresses is the h issue e nofgmeasurement c h i U of soft power. Some argue that public polls measuring the popularity of a certain country is constantly changing, therefore, cannot be taken seriously. Nye argues that even though polls have their limitation and cannot be taken as a dogma they are a good first approximation of one's popularity especially when the same question is asked over some period therefore some trend of popularity can be observed.24. 20. NYE, Joseph. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. New York: Public Affairs, 2004. ISBN 1568648-306-4. [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 14. 21 Ibid, [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 15. 22 NYE, Joseph. Propaganda Isn't the Way: Soft Power. [visited: 17.12.2019]. 23 NYE, Joseph. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 17. 24 Ibid, [visited: 17.12.2019]. Page 18.. 22 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(23) When it comes to PRC and its soft power Nye points out that PRC started to work on its soft power since the 2000s and hit the peak in the 2008 Olympics but any significant progress then was destroyed by human rights abuses and crackdowns in Tibet and years later in Xinjiang. He also points out that because soft power comes from the free civil society which is very limited in PRC, therefore, any grass-root trends that could have world impact, thus promote Chinese soft power, have no chance to succeed as the most of their soft power is state-led, in media and narrative of development. 25 Because of the promotion of this development narrative, Blanchard and Lu argue that China's soft power is contextual therefore works in some parts of the world. For example, in Africa, this development narrative is extremely popular as economic prosperity has a higher priority than human rights.26 But in recent years researchers started to observe new phenomena especially connected with the various incidents concerning Confucius Institutes at American. 政治大. universities or Chinese media influence in Australia affecting Chinese diasporas. Institutions and. 立. their activities that should normally be considered as a standard part of public diplomacy and soft. ‧ 國. 學. power started to take “harder” shape and approach. These incidents led to the creation of a new concept of power connected with PRC's activities together with Russia's and Iran's as well.. ‧. 2.1.3 Sharp power. y. Nat. Sharp power is a relatively new term that has been introduced in the 2017 essay called From “Soft. io. sit. Power” to “Sharp Power”: Rising Authoritarian Influence in the Democratic World27 by. n. a. er. Christopher Walker and Jessica Ludwig. The Sharp power employs the usage of the manipulative. v. diplomatic policies together with thel management of the information about itself in the media, ni. Ch. U. e ntogmislead c h i or divide the public opinion in a target academia, and public space of another country. country. The second aim might be also diverting from the negative information about itself in the target country. This concept was later on published Foreign Affairs magazine under the name: The Meaning of Sharp Power: How Authoritarian States Project Influence28, and finally their essay. 25. NYE, Joseph. Why China Is Weak on Soft Power. [online]. New York Times, 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/opinion/why-china-is-weak-on-soft-power.html?_r=0. [visited: 26.2.2020]. 26 JEAN-MARC, F. Blanchard and LU, Fujia. Thinking Hard About Soft Power: A Review and Critique of the Literature on China and Soft Power. [online]. Asian Perspective, Vol. 36, No. 4, Special Issue: China and Soft Power, 2012. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/42704806?seq=1. [visited: 26.2.2020]. 27 WALKER, Christopher and LUDWIG, Jessica. “Soft Power” to “Sharp Power”: Rising Authoritarian Influence in the Democratic World. [visited: 22.12.2019]. 28 WALKER, Christopher and LUDWIG, Jessica. The Meaning of Sharp Power: How Authoritarian States Project Influence. [online]. Foreign Affairs, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2017-1116/meaning-sharp-power?cid=int-fls&pgtype=hpg. [visited: 22.12.2019].. 23 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(24) has become an introduction in a broader report by National Endowment for Democracy (NED) called Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence: New Forum Report.29 In the broader context of the globalized world, it is apparent that every country is trying to influence other countries through various means. Bigger and stronger country have richer means and its reach is far more reaching. Influencing was historically done by democracies like the USA or UK and today it is still happening by almost everyone. Nonetheless, the term sharp power was created to describe such activities conducted by the authoritarian countries namely PRC and Russia. as they are using the imbalance in the openness of their regimes and democratic regimes. In the mid-2000s we can observe two main things happening connected to sharp power phenomena. First is the establishment of “Russian television” in 2005 which was later renamed to. 政治大 overlooked by the mainstream 立. RT from which it is harder to recognize its country of origin and affiliation. According to their webpage: “RT covers stories. media, provides alternative. ‧ 國. 學. perspectives on current affairs, and acquaints international audiences with a Russian viewpoint on major global events.”30. ‧. The second thing of similar importance happened in the People's Republic of China (PRC). In. y. Nat. 2004 program of establishing Confucius Institutes have begun in order to promote Chinese culture. sit. and forge new relationships abroad. This was later on in 2007 reaffirmed by the General Secretary. al. n. of Chinese soft power.31. er. io. of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Hu Jintao who called for a new vision. Ch. i. e. i n U. v. n g authoritarian ch One would say that any efforts by these two countries would be dismissed immediately by democratic countries and their people because how these states can get any appeal when they are well known for their crippling issues such as political repressions, human rights. abuses, and government-led censorship. But they were exploiting a fundamental characteristic of any democratic nation which is openness and freedom of speech and media therefore by the technique of try and error they could alter their messages and in time get more viewers, readers, and listeners. They found out that they do not have to make their regime type appealing but 29. WALKER Ch., LUDWIG J., CARDENAL J. P., KUCHARCZYK J., MASEZNIKOV G., PLESCHOVA G. Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence: New Forum Report. [visited: 22.12.2019]. 30 About RT. [online]. RT, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.rt.com/about-us/. [visited: 22.12.2019]. 31 WALKER Ch., LUDWIG J., CARDENAL J. P., KUCHARCZYK J., MASEZNIKOV G., PLESCHOVA G. Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence: New Forum Report. [visited: 26.12.2019]. Page 8.. 24 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(25) decreasing the appeal of democracy is enough, this is especially true to the Russian strategy. The continuous attack on the prestige of the democratic system especially the United States of America and the European Union. The Chinese strategy is similar in degree but with more resources, its scope is broader and goals are more ambitious as with a business footprint over the globe its policies are masking the efforts to suppress any criticism towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) beyond PRC's borders. They are using co-optation and manipulation focusing on academia, media, and policy community. Even though both approaches are different in scope and shape both are identical in promoting state power over individual liberty while at the same time are hostile towards, freedom of expression of any kind, open debate, and independent thought.32 What is striking, Walker points out, is the domestic situation in both countries and governmental. 政治大 there is state-led censorship and people are being persecuted for free speech and independent 立 thoughts why the methods of these governments should be any different when they decided to. attitudes especially towards their media and citizens has to be taken into consideration. Where. ‧ 國. 學. reach abroad he asks.33 As Chinese tech companies in which all of them employ self-censorship methods, Beijing is pushing the same manners towards western academia which talks about what. ‧. PRC view as sensitive topics and any debate about home would be punished harshly. The nature. sit. y. Nat. of PRC and Russia have to be counted with when thinking about their influence efforts as they did not come to win the minds and hearts which is soft power's goal but instead, they have come to. io. er. repress, divide, confuse and manipulate.34. al. n. iv n C What makes sharp power so problematic h to discover is thatUsome activities PRC and Russia that engchi they undertake certainly fit the box of normal public diplomacy but many others do not. Chinese cultural and educational initiatives that suppress alternative narratives and exploit partner institutions or Russian idea of the kleptocratic regime with the same ruler for almost two decades. and now able to stay in power until 2034 is something “normal” is something new and there is a need to describe this phenomenon of soft power when speaking about authoritarian countries.35. 32. WALKER Ch., LUDWIG J., CARDENAL J. P., KUCHARCZYK J., MASEZNIKOV G., PLESCHOVA G. Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence: New Forum Report. [visited: 26.12.2019]. Page 9. 33 Ibid, [visited: 27.12.2019]. Page 14. 34 Ibid, [visited: 27.12.2019]. Page 12. 35 Ibid, [visited: 27.12.2019]. Page 13.. 25 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(26) Term sharp power might be more proper as these influence efforts are “sharp” in a sense that they pierce, penetrate or perforate the information environment. These methods should be seen as the tip of a knife because they indeed pierce. Sharp power also enables them to cut into society amplifying existing divisions. These tactics employ a degree of stealth as they are taking advantage of the open information nature in democratic nations, they are very hard to detect thus sharp power is also benefiting from a time difference before the target country realizes there is a problem. Sharp power perfectly captures the nature of these regimes which have little resemblance with soft power as their message propagates state monopoly on power, top-down control, censorship, or purchased loyalty, all of it projected outwards therefore those affected cannot be considered as an audience but much more as victims.36. 政治大 “It is a natural disadvantage of democracy that it ties the hands of those who wish it well, and 立 2.2 Paradox of Tolerance. opens unlimited possibilities for those who do not take it seriously,” – Vaclav Havel. ‧ 國. 學. 2.2.1 Tolerance and Open Society. ‧. Tolerance or Toleration means that one will put up with something that one does not like, in other. words, one has a fair, objective, and permissive attitude towards other people whose opinions,. y. Nat. sit. practices, believes, race, sexual orientation, etc. is different from one's own.37 In today's globalized. er. io. world the importance of toleration is vital as the communities in the cosmopolitan centers all over. a 38 the world would not be able to exist. n. iv l C n h e n g and i U The oldest example is the Indian Historically tolerance was connected with religion c hbeliefs. emperor Ashoka who lived in 3rd century BC and through his edicts promoted toleration of all sects.39 Later on, various toleration existed in the Ottoman Empire where among the heterogeneous Muslim population existed millets which very autonomous self-governing religious communities either Christian or Jewish.40 The most important was the time of the Enlightenment during which 36. WALKER Ch., LUDWIG J., CARDENAL J. P., KUCHARCZYK J., MASEZNIKOV G., PLESCHOVA G. Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence: New Forum Report. [visited: 26.12.2019]. Page 13. 37 VOGT, W. Paul. Tolerance and Education: Learning to Live with Diversity and Difference. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California, 1997. ISBN 0-7619-0217-1. [visited: 14.2.2020]. Page 1. 38 Ibid, [visited: 14.2.2020]. Page 5. 39 UPINDER, Singh. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India, 2009. ISBN 978-8131711200. [visited: 14.2.2020]. Page 327. 40 Millet. [online]. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/millet-religiousgroup. [visited: 14.2.2020].. 26 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(27) religious toleration started to emerge in Europe, mostly influenced by John Locke's A Letter Concerning Toleration (1690) and a century later had an impact on Thomas Jefferson's Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom in Virginia.41 It was John Stuart Mill who broadens the meaning of toleration from only a religious perspective to a developed concept of freedom of speech as he states there should not be any attempt to control the expression of opinion.42 Mill also advocated for personal expression which cannot be persecuted by others but he adds that each person is not truly an isolated individual and thus one's. expression could have an impact on others and when it does violate others, intervention is justifiable.43 Locke's and Mill's ideas laid out the foundation in theory which has been throughout time. 政治大 individual that has later on transferred 立 into a binding document such as Universal Declaration of transferred into practice such as separation of church and state, constitutional protection of. ‧ 國. 學. Human Rights (1948).44. Today's liberal democracies are being characterized as open societies. Even though the concept of. ‧. tolerant society presented by Locke and Mill comes already from ancient Greece the term we use. y. Nat. today, “Open Society”, that encompasses these ideas was coined by Henri Bergson for who open. sit. society, an opposite to the close society, is when the love and embracement will be broadened to. er. io. all humankind.45 For him, open society becomes dynamic and open to moral universalism46, in. n. a l law or religion which he describes contrast to closed society with closed as static.47 iv. n U i e h n g cKarl Popper. He argued that open society is a The concept of open society was later developed by. Ch. historical evolution from tribal society, to closed one and finally to open one. For him the process. 41. MURPHY, R. Andrew. Toleration. [online]. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/toleration. [visited: 14.2.2020]. 42 MILL, John Stuart. Liberty, XVIII. [online]. University of Toronto Press, 1977. Retrieved from: https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/mill-the-collected-works-of-john-stuart-mill-volume-xviii-essays-on-politics-andsociety-part-i. [visited: 14.2.2020]. Page 238. 43 Ibid, [visited: 14.2.2020]. Page 281. 44 MURPHY, R. Andrew. Toleration. [online]. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017. [visited: 14.2.2020]. 45 BERGSON, Henri. The Two Sources of Molarity and Religion. [online]. London, 1935. Retrieved from: https://ia800902.us.archive.org/2/items/twosourcesofmora033499mbp/twosourcesofmora033499mbp.pdf. [visited: 21.2.2020]. Page 21. 46 Some systems of ethics or a universal ethic applies to all members universally regardless of culture, sex, religion etc. 47 BERGSON, Henri. The Two Sources of Molarity and Religion. [visited: 21.2.2020]. Page 229.. 27 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(28) was started by Greeks as the dream of unity and perfection is the symptom of the lost group spirit of tribalism. He argues that once the closed society is awaken – once individuals realized ideas of individualism, humanism, and ability to criticize they cannot go back to the closed society. 48 Even though there are a lot of areas for improvement, Western liberal society in the 21st century is much more tolerant of other religions, sexes, ideas, sexual orientation, etc. than it was a century ago. However, with the toleration and open society comes new challenges from those actors, either domestic or foreign, which have their interests in the dissolution of open pluralistic society which. reveals the paradox of tolerance. 2.2.2 Paradox The Paradox of Tolerance was defined by Karl Popper in his book The Open Society and Its. 政治大 World War II as totalitarian regimes 立took root in Germany and Russia. His book was therefore a Enemies (1945). He was influenced by the political turmoil in Europe between World War I and. ‧ 國. 學. defense of open society which he characterizes by having institutions that allow people to search for pragmatic solutions to social and political problems. This corresponds with modern institutions. ‧. in a liberal democracy. For Popper, the enemies were the ones who tried to limit, undermine, or. overthrow these institutions. He chose Plato as the one who gave the foundation to the formation. Nat. sit. y. of autoreactive regimes later on as, for Popper, Plato's Republic was, in essence, a rigid society. er. io. and its philosopher-king whose knowledge of Forms would save the society from decay which for Plato was unavoidable therefore new a society would be not changing in time. For Plato that was. n. iv l C n justice but for Popper, it had signs of totalitarianism as this hengch i Usociety would be based on a strong state, collectivism, the censorship that would be enforced by state propaganda which Plato called Noble lies.49 50 Popper lays out a critique of Hegel and Marx as well because he argues that they as Plato believe in these trans-historical laws that govern human history. As Popper was an eye witness to the rise of nationalism in Austria before the World War II and following Anschluss51 together with the rise. 48. POPPER, Karl. The Open Society and Its Enemies. [online]. Routledge & Kegan Paul Plc, 1966. Retrieved from: https://monoskop.org/images/5/5f/Popper_Karl_The_Open_Society_and_Its_Enemies_Vols_1-2_5th_ed.pdf. ISBN 0-691-01968-1. [visited: 21.2.2020]. Page 176. 49 In politics it refers to a myth or untruth knowingly presented by the elite to maintain social harmony. In this case it is to convince people of the city of their unequal standing and deep their ties to the city. 50 POPPER, Karl. The Open Society and Its Enemies. [visited: 21.2.2020]. Page 550. 51 Political union of Austria with Germany, achieved through annexation by Adolf Hitler in 1938.. 28 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(29) of nationalism in Germany using the historical deterministic narrative and he lived throughout the time of establishing the Soviet Union which was using Marx historicism for overthrowing Tsar as socialism was a natural future development in human history, he was very critical to anyone using historical laws guiding humanity especially when the atrocities of those regimes which rise on that historical premise came to light. This personal experience made Popper die-hard defender of democracy and in order to preserve it in his work, he formulated the paradox of tolerance. Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance. even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.52 He continues his argumentation that intolerant philosophies should be always suppressed as long. 政治大 they should be kept in check by public 立 opinion, as suppression, in this case, would be unwise.. as they cannot be countered by rational argument. If they can be met with a ration argumentation 53. ‧ 國. 學. But he argues that the right to suppress them if there is a need should be always reserved and that applies to usage of force as well. This non-renouncing the violence he bases on the fact that the. ‧. intolerant could not be prepared to engage on the level of rational argument, but instead they begin. to denounce all argument as well as they may forbid their followers to listen to ration argument,. Nat. sit. y. because they view it as deceptive, and instead of them they may teach them to answer arguments. er. io. by the usage of force.54 Therefore he claims the right not to tolerate the intolerant, in the name of tolerance. Any movement preaching a intolerance by definition places itself outside of the law and. n. iv l C n the society should consider persecuting it h the same way as murder or kidnapping is.55 U engchi. Popper was the first one to deal with this paradox but others derivate from his argumentation. John Rawls in his book A Theory of Justice. He argues that a just society has to tolerate the intolerant otherwise the society would become unjust as well. But he follows Popper's argument that such a society has to have a reasonable right for self-preservation:. 52. POPPER, Karl. The Open Society and Its Enemies. [visited: 16.2.2020]. Page 543. Ibid, [visited: 16.2.2020]. Page 543. 54 Ibid, [visited: 16.2.2020]. Page 543. 55 Ibid, [visited: 16.2.2020]. Page 544. 53. 29 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(30) “While an intolerant sect does not itself have title to complain of intolerance, its freedom should be restricted only when the tolerant sincerely and with reason believe that their own security and that of the institutions of liberty are in danger.”56 Michael Walzer and his work called On Toleration are asking “Should we tolerate the intolerant?” Even though his discussion is focusing on the groups and toleration within a one-state entity he concludes that most minority religious or ethnic groups living in the tolerant society and benefiting from it and in some aspect intolerant. He argues that intolerant people living in the tolerant. environment could learn to tolerate or at least to act as they possess this virtue as encounters with the other groups are unavoidable but in the end, they would support the state in crafting policies to separate them as a way of protecting themselves due to the fear of potential fanaticism from the. 政治大 This issue has been addressed even立 before the 20 century even though at the time it did not have other group.57. th. ‧ 國. 學. a coined term. In the USA it was Thomas Jefferson who gave a thought to the notion of a tolerant society. During his first inauguration speech in 1801, he warned those who might try to destabilize. ‧. the unity of the US, stating:. y. Nat. "Let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be. er. io. sit. tolerated where reason is left free to combat it."58. Others did not focus solely on tolerance and its paradox but because the concept of freedom of. n. a. v. speech is tied with the paradox they lfocused n i Rosenfeld points out why the C on it instead. Michael. i U. he. n g c h who, if they ought to gain power, would society should give freedom of speech to the extremists ruthlessly suppress the speech of those whom they disagree? He points out that there is a difference. in approach to hate speech between European states and the USA in which there is no limitation. of speech whatsoever.59. 56. RAWLS, John. A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-674-00078-0. [visited: 16.2.2020]. Page 220. 57 WALZER, Michael. On Toleration. Yale University Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-300-07600-4. [visited: 16.2.2020]. Page 81. 58 JEFFERSON, Thomas. First Inaugural Address. [online]. University of Chicago Press, 2001. Retrieved from: http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch4s33.html. [visited: 14.2.2020]. 59 ROSENFELD, Michael. Extremist Speech and the Paradox of Tolerance. Harvard Law Review, 1987. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1341168. [visited: 16.2.2020]. Page 1.. 30 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.

(31) This dilemma on which speech should be tolerated and which should be suppressed was already discussed before it was put into the framework of the paradox of tolerance. In the 19th century it was John Stuart Mill in his work On Liberty (1859) he defines that every opinion is either 1) true, 2) false or 3) partially true. He argues that a person does not have a priori insight into the truth, the mind has to be open to revision and observation. There could be a debate that some believes even though true could be thought of as harmful but argue that it should be suppressed means either that believe is infallibility on its harmfulness or the debate on that topic has to be allowed which lead to a debate on the issue, therefore, believes from the case number one should not be suppressed. Mill argues that cases in category number two, those that are false, should not be suppressed as well as affirmation of them being false leads to debate that transfers to better understanding. He argues that false claims should be put under dispute which allows us to hear opposite arguments. 政治大. to the truth which will serve as its re-articulation.60 Case three for Mill is the case of those areas. 立. where truth has more sides to it such as morality. He argues that individuals are unable to see the. ‧ 國. 學. whole truth and the only possible way for them to see is to reunite and combine the opposites. 61 It is apparent that Mill and Jefferson do not advocate for immediately silencing the intolerant or. ‧. false information as long as the debate will occur and the protagonists of those opinions will be. sit. y. Nat. open to reason. In the same narrative operates Poppers' paradox as well. None of them advocates. io. immediately.. er. for immediate silencing those who are intolerant and if given power would squash tolerance. al. n. iv n C This thesis is looking at the Czech Chinese relations whichUwere opened in 2013 in a very naive he ngchi and tolerant way towards the People's Republic of China. Because PRC domestically is a very restrictive regime, in other words very intolerant to anything else that is not given by the CCP, having very open relations for the Czech Republic means giving the PRC opportunity to exercise. sharp power in the Czech Republic. Therefore, bringing its intolerant practices to the country and thus having a negative effect on the democracy in the Czech Republic. Therefore, according to this paradox, the Czech Republic cannot be unlimitedly tolerant of the PRC as it would lose its tolerance in the long term. Thus according to this paradox the Czech Republic has the right to suppress the intolerant. The paradox does not immediately advocate silencing the intolerant but if. 60 61. MILL, John Stuart. Liberty, XVIII. [visited: 14.2.2020]. Page 249. Ibid, [visited: 14.2.2020]. Page 258.. 31 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202000800.