道德或金錢？捷克與中國之研究 - 政大學術集成

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(1)NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DIPLOMACY. MASTER THESIS. THESIS ADVISOR: Alex Chiang (姜家雄). MORALS OR MONEY?. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. ‧. io. sit. y. Nat. STUDY OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN. n. al. er. THE CZECH REPUBLIC. Ch. eAND ngchi. i n U. v. THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. AUTHOR: Kristýna Veselá (俞素言). DATE: May 13 2013.

(2) Abstract 道德或金錢？捷克與中國之研究. 捷克共和國(以下簡稱捷克)與中華人民共和國(以下簡稱中國)之間的外交與經濟關係有著悠久的傳統和深層的複雜性。1989 年捷克與中國首次有獨立政策。到目前為止，Václav Havel 與 Václav Klaus 兩個總統都有機會影響中捷的關係。如何獲取中國的青睞並在神話般的中國市場佔有一席之地, 他們所用的方法基本上是不同的。. 政治大 Havel 總統在行使他的外交政策時,從來沒有停止強調人權與其他敏感的話題。相反地,他繼立. ‧ 國. 學. 任者 Klaus 總統採取更務實的方法去安撫中以減少貿易迷差以及幫助捷克出國到中國。. ‧. 此論文的主要重點是在探討兩種不同的方法如何影響捷克在中國企業的經濟成功以及中捷. er. io. sit. y. Nat. 之間的綜合關係。此論文也會觸及中捷之間外交與經濟兩方面的交互影響，期望舆誤解。. al. n. iv n C Morals or Money? Study of the Relations the Czech Republic and the People's h ebetween ngchi U Republic of China. The diplomatic and economic relations between the Czech Republic (CZ) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have a long tradition and a deep level of complexity. In 1989, the CZ had the first chance to conduct its independent foreign policy towards the PRC. So far, two presidents, Václav Havel and Václav Klaus, had the opportunity to influence the relations between the CZ and the PRC. Their approaches of how to gain the PRC's favor and cut off its share of the mythical Chinese market were fundamentally different. i.

(3) The first president Havel in his conduct of foreign policy never ceased to stress human rights and other sensitive topics. In contrast, his successor Vávlav Klaus chose a more pragmatic approach of appeasing the PRC in order to decrease the trade deficit and help Czech export in the PRC.. How these two different approaches influenced the economic success of Czech firms in the PRC and the relations generally, will be the main focus of my thesis. Questions of the relations between the economic and diplomatic sphere as well as features and misconceptions regarding the relations will be addressed as well.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. ii. i n U. v.

(4) Acknowledgement Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Prof. Alex Chiang for the continuous support of my research, for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge.. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank the rest of my thesis committee for their. 政治大. encouragement, insightful comments, and hard questions.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. iii. i n U. v.

(5) Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgement......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables and Charts................................................................................................................................ vi 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Motivation .......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Problem Statement ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.3. Significance of the Research............................................................................................................... 3 1.4. Research Questions ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.5. Literature Review ............................................................................................................................... 4. 政治大. 1.6. Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 13 1.7. Definition of Terms ........................................................................................................................... 14. 立. 1.8. The Scope of the Research and Limitations ..................................................................................... 14. ‧ 國. 學. 2. Introduction to the Relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC .......................................... 16 2.1. Situation Preceding the Velvet Revolution....................................................................................... 17 2.2. Changes after the Velvet Revolution ................................................................................................ 18. ‧. 2.3 Václav versus Václav .......................................................................................................................... 20 2.3.1. Role of the President in the Foreign Policy of the Czech Republic ........................................... 21. y. Nat. sit. 2.3.2. Václav Havel .............................................................................................................................. 24. er. io. 2.3.3. Václav Klaus ............................................................................................................................... 34 3. Money...................................................................................................................................................... 44. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. 3.1. Czech Export and Import in the PRC ................................................................................................ 45. engchi. 3.2. Czech Investment in the PRC ............................................................................................................ 47 3.3. Case studies ...................................................................................................................................... 49 3.3.1. Shentou Plant ............................................................................................................................ 49 3.3.2. The case of Škoda Auto ............................................................................................................. 50 3.3.3. Budějovický Budvar ................................................................................................................... 52 3.4. EU: Common Foreign and Security Policy ........................................................................................ 53 3.5. General Characteristic of the Relations ............................................................................................ 60 3.5.1. Asymmetry in the Interest in the Relationship ......................................................................... 61 3.5.2. Asymmetry in Official Visits ....................................................................................................... 64 3.5.3 Asymmetry in Trade ................................................................................................................... 64 3.5.4 Influence of Economization ........................................................................................................ 66 iv.

(6) 3.5.5. Relation between the Political and Economic Sphere .............................................................. 67 4. Morals ...................................................................................................................................................... 69 4.1. Human Rights ................................................................................................................................... 69 4.1.1. Human Rights – Dialogue via the EU ......................................................................................... 71 4.1.2. Human Rights – Dialogue via the UN ........................................................................................ 72 4.1.3. Human Rights – Direct Dialogue between the PRC and the Czech Republic ............................ 73 4.2. Czech Republic's Attitude towards Tibet.......................................................................................... 76 4.2.1. General Support for Tibet ......................................................................................................... 76 4.2.2. The Urban Legend of Dalai Lama's Harmful Effect .................................................................... 79 4.3. The Role of the ROC ......................................................................................................................... 81. 政治大. 4.4. Chinese Minority in the Czech Republic ........................................................................................... 89 4.4.1. Legal definition of the Chinese Minority in the Context of the Czech Republic ....................... 89. 立. 4.4.2. Chinese Community in the Czech Republic – History................................................................ 91. ‧ 國. 學. 4.4.3. Chinese Minority in the Czech Republic – Situation in 2011 ..................................................... 93 4.5. Role of Culture .................................................................................................................................. 94 4.6. Slovak Republic’s Foreign Policy Towards the PRC .......................................................................... 96. ‧. 5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 98 References ................................................................................................................................................. 103. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. Attachments .............................................................................................................................................. 127. Ch. engchi. v. i n U. v.

(7) List of Tables and Charts Chart1 .................................................................................................................................. 23 Chart 2 ................................................................................................................................. 32 Chart 3 ................................................................................................................................. 33 Chart 4 ................................................................................................................................. 34. 政治大. Chart 5 ................................................................................................................................. 41. 立. Chart 6 ................................................................................................................................. 42. ‧ 國. 學. Chart 7 ................................................................................................................................. 43 Chart 8 ................................................................................................................................. 52. ‧. Chart 9 ................................................................................................................................. 78. y. Nat. io. sit. Chart 10 ............................................................................................................................... 127. n. al. er. Chart 11 ............................................................................................................................... 127. Ch. i n U. v. Chart 12 ............................................................................................................................... 128. engchi. Chart 13 .............................................................................................................................. 129 Chart 14 .............................................................................................................................. 129. vi.

(8) 1. Introduction In 1989 Czechoslovakia, the predecessor of the present Czech Republic, for the first time had a chance to conduct its independent foreign policy towards other states. Hence, at that time an important milestone in the relationship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Czechoslovakia was made and the two states that used to share the same ideology had to face. 治政大 introduced into the dialogue between them. 立. new challenges, both in terms of their internal developments and of the new issues that were. ‧ 國. 學. Within the period of 1989 and 2013, the Czech Republic internally went through a significant transition, which manifested itself in new ways of conducting foreign policy towards. ‧. other states, including the PRC. Foreign policy became conducted by a number of actors, in times. Nat. sit. y. acting in contrast to what was perceived the official line of the foreign policy. One of the most. n. al. er. io. important actors in such a conduct is the president, whose power in the case of the Czech. i n U. v. Republic goes beyond president's rights and obligations stated in the Constitution of the Czech. Ch. engchi. Republic. Moreover, the president is naturally a significant figure who has the ability to intentionally and unintentionally influence the Czech Republic’s foreign policy. Since 1989, two presidents – Václav Havel and Václav Klaus both had the opportunity to conduct their foreign policy towards the PRC. Their approaches to the PRC and issues related to the foreign policy conduct were fundamentally different and can be in brief characterized as "the morals" and "the money" approach. First president's – Václav Havel's conduct of the foreign policy towards the PRC was marked by promoting issues such as human rights and civil society.. 1.

(9) His successor, Václav Klaus, on the other hand, chose a more pragmatic approach and focused on the economic aspect of the relations.. Identifying motives of these two big personalities of the Czech Republic's political life in their conduct of foreign policy towards the PRC, and how their different lines of foreign policy translated in the economic sphere, is the main focus of this thesis.. 1.1. Motivation. 政治大. My motivation to explore the topic of the relationship between trade and diplomacy. 立. between the Czech Republic and the PRC partly originated in the 2012 statements of President. ‧ 國. 學. Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Petr Nečas about the need for a new policy towards the PRC and partly are also based on many slow-paced and hidden developments and factors. To name. ‧. just a couple – the belief presented by the Czech media, in an enormous but not yet fulfilled. y. Nat. sit. potential of the PRC market or the increasing role and leverage of the PRC lobby. Hence, my. n. al. er. io. motivation can be summarized as the curiosity to find out what characterizes and influences the relationship and what motives of individual actors were.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 1.2. Problem Statement For many years, people believed that good relations between two states in the economic sphere will definitely translate into the diplomatic sphere and vice versa. The current approach of the Czech Republic is clearly based on the belief that by obeying the PRC's objections and wishes regarding the conduct of foreign policy, Czech exports to the PRC will increase considerably. Reports on the PRC as presented by Czech media almost without exception portray the PRC as 2.

(10) full of opportunities for Czech businessmen. Yet, conclusions of some of the Czech scholars (Fürst, Pleschová) suggest, this may not be the case. Source of these illusions seem to be an overemphasis on the PRC's potential and neglecting the reality. History of failed projects and obstacles to trade on the PRC's side are often marginalized and any set-back is usually blamed on the human rights movement, Dalai Lama visits.. 1.3. Significance of 治the Research. 立. 政. 大. Contribution of this study lies not only in gaining an insight into the relations between the. ‧ 國. 學. political and economic sphere with respect to the relations between the Czech Republic and the PRC, but also exploring the reality and potentials of a small state's policy towards a big player,. ‧. such as the PRC. Therefore, the conclusions of this study are likely to be also applicable for other. sit. y. Nat. states in central Europe, such as Slovakia.. n. al. er. io. Moreover, as far as the morals issues are concerned, identifying motivations behind the. i n U. v. actions of the Czech Republic and the PRC as well as understanding the increasing emphasis on. Ch. engchi. economy in contrast to other aspects of the relations, is an essential step.. 3.

(11) 1.4. Research Questions The purpose of the study is to identify relations between politics and economics in the relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC after 1989. More specifically, these questions will be addressed:. 1. What is the relations between the economic and diplomatic sphere between the Czech. 政治大 What factors influence the 立relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC? Republic and the PRC?. 學. ‧ 國. 2.. 1.5. Literature Review. ‧. In terms of a language division, sources used in this thesis may see as unbalanced. The. y. Nat. sit. English written literature in majority of cases deals only with the relationship between the PRC or. n. al. er. io. ROC and the EU (or Europe generally). Sources in Chinese dedicated specifically to the topic of. i n U. v. Sino-Czech relations, are even scarcer. Hence, they were used mainly to trace the PRC or ROC. Ch. engchi. view on specific events or topics. In contrast, literature written in Czech language is, as one would expect, the most plentiful. Slovak sources on the other hand, in many instances provide a very useful insight into the question of Sino-Czech relations, usually by means of a comparing between approaches of the Czech and Slovak Republic to various issues related to the PRC. Generally speaking, five groups of literature can be identified in terms of their themes – literature on the PRC/ROC relations with Europe/EU, sources on relationship between the Czech Republic and PRC/ROC, literature concerning the position of a small state in today's international. 4.

(12) relations, literature on the topic of economization and finally, literature concerning power dependence.. PRC Relations with Europe/EU There is an abundant literature regarding relations between Europe/EU and the PRC. Yet, a great majority of it does not give the Czech Republic equal space as to the other European. 政治大. states or members of the EU. Sources used in this research are hence those which either gave the. 立. Czech Republic equivalent space as to the other states1 or which provided a new insight into the. ‧ 國. 學. Sino-European or Sino-EU relationship.. ‧. One of the common themes that frequently appears in the literature on the PRC/ROC. sit. y. Nat. relations with the EU/Europe is the topic of misunderstanding. Uli Brückner, for example, points. io. er. out misunderstanding and different perceptions as the underlying characteristic of the EU-PRC relationship. He even goes as far as stating that in Europe, feelings about the PRC are a "mix of. al. n. iv n C admiration and fear" (Brückner 14). Chong-ko Peter Tzou h e n g c h i Uwhen characterizing the EU-ROC relations used almost the same argument and claimed that the relation can be characterized by. misunderstanding which is based mainly on different perceptions of the PRC. Michael Yahuda identifies misunderstanding between the PRC and Europe as one of the two major influences on the EU-PRC relations; the second being the trade (29-30).. 1. see for example China-Europe Relations: Perceptions, policies and prospects by David Shambaugh, Ebergard Sandshneider and Zhou Hong (eds) or EU Foreign Policy in a Globalized World: Normative power and social preferences by Zaki Laïdi (ed) or NGOs in China and Europe: Comparisons and Contrasts by Yuwen Li (ed).. 5.

(13) Question of trade and the overall economic dimension of the EU-PRC relations is, by no surprise, another re-occurrent topic. Yahuda believes that trade was the main substance of relations between the PRC and Europe for almost two thousand years (13-14). Some of the scholars2 however downplay the influence the PRC had or could potentially have on the EU market. Particularly interesting in this regards is the argument of Lovering who claims that market force in response to the PRC will generate a new pattern of Ricardian specialization that will leave sufficient jobs in the former advantaged countries (72).3. 政治大. The third re-occurring topic is the issue of human rights. Richard Balme states that “in the. 立. absence of a major crisis, European public is less sensitive to the human rights situations in China. ‧ 國. 學. than to the trade issue” (153). The reason for such a tension lies in his view in a different conception of human rights claimed by the PRC authorities, which is enlarged to social and. ‧. economic well-being and tends to minimize the importance of political and civil rights. Franco. Nat. sit. y. Algieri goes as far as to claim that in the field of human rights, coherence and credibility of. n. al. er. io. European PRC policy is threatened (77-78). On the other hand, authors of the EU-China:. i n U. v. Political and Economic Relations Handbook seem to suggest that EU-PRC human rights. Ch. engchi. dialogues are working. Fox and Godement view the EU's strategy towards the PRC as based on an anachronistic belief that the PRC, under the influence of European engagement, will liberalize its economy, improve the role of law and democratize its politics. They claim that the underlying. 2. see for example essays by Ivan Turok, John Lovering or Friedmann in China and Europe: The Implications of the rise of China for European space. 3. As quoted in Samuelson, P. (2004) "Where Ricardo and Mill rebut and Confirm Arguments of Mainstream Economists Supporting Globalization", Journal of Economic Perspectives 18: 135-46.. 6.

(14) idea of this unconditional engagement of the EU is that the engagement with the PRC is positive in itself and hence should not be conditional on any specific PRC behavior (1).. While some of the scholars (Turok, Lovering or Friedmann) seem to claim that there is no need to fear the PRC, Franziska Brantner and Richard Gowan claim that in 20 years, it will be harder to convince giants like China, India and others that a rule-based international system is in their interest (83). Generally, scholars are rather critical of the EU's approach to the PRC. Yet, they reasons range from the overemphasis on the trade aspect of the relations, marginalization of. 政治大. human rights or lack of understanding between the two sides. There are a few exceptions to this. 立. division. Probably the most interesting argument provided Jean-Pierre Cabestan as he claims that. ‧ 國. 學. the ROC has proven to be more an irritation that leverage for the EU in its relations with the PRC and moreover, that the EU policy towards the PRC has been over time afflicted by the EU-ROC. ‧. relations (99-100).. y. Nat. er. io. sit. Scholars also differ in how optimistically (or pessimistically) they look at the development of the PRC-EU relations. Taneja Pradeep represents the "optimistic group". He. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. believes that "although the differences over norms and values constitute a serious obstacle to the. engchi. realization of a genuine strategic partnership, the growing interdependence between the two sides and the multidimensional nature of the relationship will, in the long run, overshadow these differences, thus allowing each side more leverage over the other in dealing with complex bilateral and global issues" (Taneja 372). Jonathan Holslag, on the other hand, represents a pessimistic group. He argues that a strategic relationship between the EU and the PRC is not materializing – either in paper, or in practice. Reasons for this failure are, in his view, the stubborn belief of the EU that it can socialize the PRC. He even concludes by saying that "[t]he cases of Africa and the UN have showed that Europe can at best act as a go-between or a cushion 7.

(15) against American pressure" (Holslag 310). Another representatives of the pessimistic camp are Bernadette Andresso-O'Callaghan and Francoise Nicolas. They emphasize the great asymmetry between the PRC and Europe in their trade relationship. Although they believe that there are certain areas of complementarity, they see the EU enlargement as potentially dangerous because it increases the competition. As a solution to this challenge, Andresso-O'Callaghan and Nicolas suggest multilateralism and cooperation on energy issues as the recommended for improving PRC-EU relations. It is interesting to note that although Andresso-O'Callaghan and Nicolas. 治政大 it is a source of problems, radically differ in their opinion on multilateralism – for Holslag 立 whereas for Andresso-O'Callaghan and Nicolas it is the answer to problems of the EU-PRC similarly to Holslag share a gloomy view on the cooperation between the EU and the PRC, they. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 y. Nat. io. n. al. er. Relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC. sit. relationship (33).. i n U. v. The main difference between scholars when analyzing the relationship between the PRC. Ch. engchi. and the Czech Republic is the extent to which they believe the relationship is marked by human rights and other “touchy issues”. It is interesting that while Czech scholars (e.g. Fürst and Pleschová) seem to refuse the idea that human rights would ever constitute a mainstream issue in the Czech Republic foreign policy towards the PRC and moreover claim, that human rights support has a minimal influence on the business with the PRC, the non-Czech scholars see the Czech Republic as the main supporter of human rights, Tibet and the ROC in Europe. Fox and Godement, for example, categorize the Czech Republic approach to the PRC as an “Assertive Industrialist” approach, stating that the Czech Republic is “willing to stand up to China 8.

(16) vigorously on both political and economic issue” (Fox and Godement 5). David Shambaugh also expresses belief that out of European countries, it is particularly the Czech Republic which the most harbors sympathies for the ROC or Tibet (Shambaugh 133).. Writings of Rober Fürst, one of the top Czech scholars researching the PRC and ROC, created the base for my research. In his book Čína ve XX. století: období 1998 – 2005 he shares his belief in a very small amount of dependence between the sphere of economy and politics (in the context of relations between the Czech Republic and the PRC). 4 In “Čína na cestě od. 政治大. izolacionismu k plíživé demokracii”, Fürst describes some tragic examples of Sino-Czech joint-. 立. ventures and surveys how the PRC approaches countries with which it has common economic. ‧ 國. 學. interests. These examples contrast sharply with those provides by Zhang Zuqian in his essay in China-Europe Relations, in which he provided a great number of cases of successful European. ‧. joint ventures in the PRC (Zhang, "China's commercial relations with Europe"). Fürst is generally. Nat. sit. y. very critical of the Czech Republic approach to the PRC which he believes is based on a lack of. al. n. Čechách" 39).. er. io. concrete knowledge of the PRC reality, experience and self-esteem ("Politické vnímání Číny v. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. It is interesting that the Czech Republic is, when it comes to its relations with the PRC, usually mentioned alongside with Poland or Slovakia. While the comparison to Slovakia is popular with Czech and Slovak scholars (Fürst and Pleschová), scholars of other nationalities seem to prefer mentioning the Czech Republic together with Poland (Jean-Pierre Cabestan, Fox and Godement). The reason for this is clear. As it was discussed earlier, many scholars outside. 4. This argument can be found in many of his writings, for example in Čína ve XX. století: období 1998 – 2005 on the page 74 or in "Czech and Slovak Relations with China", which he wrote in cooperation with Gabriela Pleschová, on the page 1379.. 9.

(17) the Czech or Slovak Republic believe in the strong share of human rights in the Czech Republic's foreign policy towards the PRC, and since similar belief is connected to Polish foreign policy towards the PRC, the Czech Republic and Poland are usually classified as having very similar policies towards the PRC. The Czech or Slovak authors, on the other hand, like to compare Czech and Slovak Republics' policies usually by pointing out that the main difference lies in the Slovak Republic prioritizing economic benefits and the Czech Republic, on the other hand, attempting not only to promote its economic interests but human rights, Taiwan and Tibet question.5. 立. 政治大. Role of a Small State in the International Society. ‧ 國. 學. Literature on the topic of position of small states in today's international society is quite. ‧. abundant and hence it was possible to analyze books which deal with the topic rather generally as. y. Nat. well as those which approach the topic from the particular point of view of the Czech Republic.. er. io. sit. Beneš questions motives of small states in their pursuit of international norms, human rights and foreign policy generally and concludes that their behavior is a result of calculation of a small. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. state's interest because the international prestige and reputation which they might gain is a. engchi. significant source of power in diplomatic negations with other countries. He evaluates the current approach of the Czech Republic as not emphasizing these values enough (Beneš 6). Jana Peterková and Eliška Tomalová agree with both Beneš's conclusions and assess the Czech Republic puts too much emphasis on areas such as investment, business and tourism and lacks. 5. For example Gregušová in "Vzťahy krajín Visegráskéj štvorky s Čínou.". 10.

(18) any strategy for its public diplomacy related to Czech foreign policy goals (Peterková and Tomalová 7). Peterková in her other paper "Veřejná diplomacie malých států a realita České republiky" recommends a “gap diplomacy” as the best conduct for a small state in today's international relations, but also states that it is not clear whether the Czech Republic's foreign policy follows the lines of gap diplomacy at the moment. She concludes by saying that the public diplomacy of the Czech Republic enables the Czech Republic to be visible in the international scene. Yet, if her criteria for an ideal conduct of a small state are applied, it is disputable whether. 政治大. the Czech Republic is visible for the right reasons.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Economization. ‧. Çalışkan and Callon defined the process of economization as a “processes that constitute. sit. y. Nat. the behaviors, organizations, institutions and, more generally, the objects in a particular society. io. er. which are tentatively and often controversially qualified by scholars and/or lay people as 'economic'” (Çalışkan and Callon 370). Thomas W. Dunfee and Yukimasa Nagayasu in contrast. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. emphasize the wide scope of impact of economization. They state that economization simply. engchi. means that “business nowadays plays an ever more important guiding role for the whole society life, that an “economization” of society is underway” (136).. According to Dunfee and Nagayasu, economic thinking and acting are penetrating and dominating more and more domains: large investments, research and development, mass media, politics, education, culture, and the family, for example. The degree into which the process of economization influences current affairs is very high and “[o]nly what counts economically and yield profit is relevant” (Dunfee and Nagayasu 136). Moreover, they clearly argue that even in 11.

(19) situations where there is a political or ethical issue at stake, economic interest will over-ride it. Coby van der Linde tracked impacts of economization in Europe and particularly, in the EU. He warned about the danger of economization and over-emphasis on economic issues which sidetrack discussions on geopolitical issues and strategist defend security interests at the EU level.“ In many member states, the peace dividend was "sold" to the public in such a way that security forces would only be needed to put out "small human right fires" and that the economization of international relations itself, i.e. globalization, would largely guarantee the pursuit of peace and prosperity“(Linde 103).. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. Power Dependence. ‧. Albert Hirschman in his National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade defined. y. Nat. sit. national power in terms of the capability of one nation to coerce another, which can be through. n. al. er. io. peaceful or military means. By peaceful means, he refers to the manipulation of trade ties for the. i n U. v. purpose of inducing the target state's political concessions (13), which seems to resemble to what. Ch. engchi. the PRC does in case to gain political concessions in regard of its conduct towards the Czech Republic. Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye suggested “it is asymmetries in dependence that are most likely to provide source of influence for actors in their dealings with one another (Keohane and Nye 10-11). From a realist perspective, if two rivals gain unevenly from their exchanges, the state that gains less will tend to eschew or at least limit the commerce; motivation behind such an action is usually the fear that the potential economic gains could make the rival stronger.. 12.

(20) 1.6. Methodology In order to confirm or disprove relation between the economic and political sphere in the conduct of foreign policy between the Czech Republic and the PRC, a historic analysis of the relations between the two countries and developments within them is conducted. The particular emphasis is dedicated to the comparative study of the foreign policy of the Czech Republic towards the PRC as conducted by President Václav Havel and Václav Klaus. The policy of the. 治政大 two foreign policy approaches policy of the latter is used to denote the "money approach." These 立 are compared together with the features that characterize them, such as for example the process former president is in this thesis regarded as symbolizing the "moral approach" whereas the. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. of economization.. Furthermore, three case studies of Czech exports to the PRC are outlined. Whereas the. Nat. sit. y. first case study briefly sketches a well-known case of a major Czech Republic and the PRC joint. n. al. er. io. venture which was preceded by many political concessions on the Czech side; the second case. v. touches the biggest Czech export success in the PRC market – Škoda Auto. The last case study. Ch. engchi. i n U. was chosen in order to illustrate the hardships that awaits a Czech exporter in the PRC.. For the factual part primarily secondary sources are used; in the case of the most recent developments, primary sources have been largely applied. The second part focuses on analyzing the most findings from the factual part – the areas that were proven to be more significant for or characteristic of the PRC and the Czech Republic relations.. As far as the citation style is concerned, Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style is implemented in this essay. The challenge regarding citations is the fact that a lot of 13.

(21) sources are electronic and hence come with no page number. Yet, the author aimed as presenting all the resources as clearly and orderly as possible.. 1.7. Definition of Terms Due to the persisting ambiguity regarding the "two Chinas" question, I will not use the term "China" and will refer to the two states with "China" in their official names – People's Republic of China and Republic of China – with their official names or official abbreviation. 政治大 traditional or simplified characters according to whether the name or term applies to the PRC or 立 throughout the text. In the text I will use pinyin as a transcription method and I will use. ‧ 國. 學. ROC.. As far as the Czech Republic is concerned, it is referred to in the text by using its official. ‧. name at that time. That is as Czechoslovakia in the context of events and developments preceding. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. the January 1, 1993 and as the Czech Republic in the context of events that followed.. i n U. Ch. v. 1.8. The Scope of thee Research n g c h i and Limitations In order for the research to be realizable, several limitations were purposefully employed on the scope and time frame of the research. However, during the initial stages of my resource gathering I have also encountered other limitations, which are to be further discussed in this part.. 14.

(22) Time My focus is primarily based on the developments that happened or followed the year of 1989, with a special emphasis on the most current changes. Although I do not deny that the history of the relations preceding 1989 is not significant, I claim that the year 1989 and the consequent transition of the Czech Republic to democracy provided such a milestone that it has transformed the character and extent of the relations.. Scope. 立. 政治大. While conducting the research, it was impossible not to recognize the importance of. ‧ 國. 學. developments of the so-called Cross-Strait relations. Notwithstanding, due to the extreme complexity of this issue, I will not discuss it on a deeper level and will only refer to it in cases. ‧. where the developments are directly connected to relations with the Czech Republic (or. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Czechoslovakia).. Due to the division of the Czechoslovakia into two separate sovereign states on January 1,. al. n. iv n C 1993 the research regarding the developments and events after h e n g c h i U this date is limited to the Czech. Republic and hence, with the exception of the cases when it is highly relevant to the researched matter, I will not focus on the PRC's relations with Slovakia.. Resource Limitations In the research, resources from four languages – Czech, English, Chinese and Slovak were utilized. However, due to the fact that the Czech Republic is not perceived as an important player in the PRC foreign relations, the literature resources regarding their language division may 15.

(23) seem unbalanced. This is especially the case for the English language literature, which with rare exception6 does not deal with the relations between the Czech Republic and the PRC at all. Hence, the English language literature used in this paper concerns especially relations between the EU and the PRC or the EU and the ROC and was used to explore the ways the Czech Republic can interact with the PRC via the EU institutions.. Since I decided to give priority to the recent developments and changes in the relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC on one side, and, a great number of the. 政治大. resources used in order to sketch recent developments are not hard copy materials. However, if. 立. not stated otherwise, all come from well-renowned sources and in a majority of cases are also. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. accessible in a paperback form.. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. 2. Introduction to the Relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC v. Diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and China 7 have a long tradition.. Ch. engchi. i n U. Czechoslovakia and the ROC mutually recognized each other on June 18th, 1919. Diplomatic relations were established later — on December 5th, 1930. Czechoslovakia was not well-known in the ROC that time and exports to the ROC constituted only between 0.4% - 1.94% (Trhlík 18). After the PRC was established, Czechoslovakia was one of the first states to recognize it and on 4th, 1949 it also established diplomatic relations with this new state entity.. 6. These exceptions especially concern research of Czech authors written in English.. 7. The term China is used here because it applies both to the PRC and the ROC.. 16.

(24) The period which followed was the period of blooming relations between these two communist countries. This was enabled mainly by the PRC's engagement in the Korean War which led the PRC into an international isolation and hence, also closer to the USSR and its satellites, one of which was Czechoslovakia. In the following term, Czechoslovakian exports to the PRC were relatively intensive, and even reached 6.2% in 1957 (Fürst, Česko-čínské vztahy po roce 1989 30). In 1968, the Soviet Union and all members of the Warsaw Pact, with the exception of Romania, invaded Czechoslovakia in order to end its reforms and liberalization and. 治政大 on Czechoslovakian foreign followed in combination with the strong influence of Moscow 立 policy has restrained continuation of the blooming relation between Czechoslovakia and the PRC. brought Czechoslovakia under stronger influence of Moscow. The Sino-Soviet Split that. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 2.1. Situation Preceding the Velvet Revolution. y. Nat. sit. Period preceding the Velvet revolution was characterized by frequent visits of the PRC. n. al. er. io. officials to the Czech Republic, which were reciprocated by the Czech Republic (Fürst, Česko-. i n U. v. čínské vztahy po roce 1989 35-36) side and which culminated in the visit of the highest. Ch. engchi. representative of the PRC, Zhao Ziyang (赵紫阳) in Prague during June 1987. General Secretary of the Czechoslovakian communist party Miloš Jakeš reciprocated the visit the year after, in 1988.. Also in terms of the economic relations this period can be seen as flourishing (Fürst, Česko-čínské vztahy po roce 1989 36-37). The huge contract for the Shentou plant, which however later on proved not to be truly beneficial for the Czechoslovakia, was also sealed in this period. Short period before the Tiananmen Square incident, there were hectic exchange of visits 17.

(25) by high-ranking party, state, and military and in December the same year there were official visits between the PRC, Romania, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria (Tubilewicz, "Chinese Press Coverage" 932). The reaction to the Tiananmen incident in Europe was diverse – some of the states reacted immediately critically (Hungary), some at least initially supported the PRC regime (Czechoslovakia), and the reaction in some showed that states should not be mistaken for monolithic actors. In Poland for example, Polish government criticized the response of the PRC. 政治大. government to the incident, but not the incident itself (Columbus 22-23). Response of Polish. 立. citizens and media towards the incident was nevertheless very strong and culminated in protests. ‧ 國. 學. and strikes in front of the PRC embassy. Czechoslovakia supported the PRC’s government's response and expressed the belief that the PRC would overcome its problems and further develop. ‧. socialism. Moreover, the Czechoslovakian media dedicated to the incident only limited coverage.. Nat. sit. y. In response, the PRC stated that they "highly valued the understanding shown by the. n. al. er. io. Czechoslovak Communist Party and people" for suppressing the anti-socialist" riots in Beijing. i n U. v. (Columbus 22-23). Yet, it must be noticed that after the democratic transition, the. Ch. engchi. Czechoslovakia changed its stance on the Tiananmen issue.. 2.2. Changes after the Velvet Revolution After the Velvet Revolution, which took place in the period of November 17 to December 29 1989, Czechoslovakia transited to democracy and hence had the opportunity to pursue its foreign policy, this time independently on the USSR, towards other countries, including the PRC.. 18.

(26) In the period which followed, neither the PRC nor the ROC were a priority of Czechoslovakian foreign policy, which was focused on establishing relations with democratic states in the West and maintaining non-conflict relations with the USSR (Fürst, Česko-čínské vztahy po roce 1989 41). The end of communist regime in Czechoslovakia brought two major changes: first, Czechoslovakian (and later Czech) foreign policy lost its unity and became a rather fighting field of different political fractions and second, new topics, such as human rights, were introduced into the foreign relations with other countries, and especially into the dialogue. 政治大 The reaction of the PRC立 on the newly independent Czechoslovakia, can be judged from. between the PRC and Czechoslovakia (and later on with the Czech Republic).. ‧ 國. 學. that time PRC press, which has been totally controlled by the communist party. Initially, after the Tiananmen incident and the Velvet revolution which followed in the fall of 1989, the heated. ‧. political atmospheres in Czechoslovakia and other East European states whose leaders originally. sit. y. Nat. supported the Tiananmen crackdown went unnoticed (Tubilewicz, "Chinese Press Coverage". er. io. 940). Periodicals in the PRC offered explanations for the abrupt nature and inevitability of the. al. n. iv n C U changes in East Central Europe, hTiananmen obviously irreversible. After the events at e n g c handi further systemic transformations in the anti-reformist states only after the political changes there became. themes taken up in the press shifted to a more critical tone (Tubilewicz, "Chinese Press Coverage" 933). The media rationalized the social turbulence in Czechoslovakia in terms of domestic and international factors. Domestic factors included rigid economic systems, lack of political reforms, and anti-socialist activities of the opposition and the Catholic Church, while. 19.

(27) international ones related to the peaceful evolution strategy and the influence of the Soviet reform.8. 2.3 Václav versus Václav9 Václav Klaus and Václav Havel were both visible figures in the Czech national political scene from the very beginning. Yet, their approach to the PRC could not be more different. In words of Enrich Fromm, the contrast between these two approaches could be seen in terms of "to. 政治大 This striking difference was created by the different ways how they perceived the world and 立 be or to have," or, in words of the author of this thesis, as “the morals and the money” approach.. ‧ 國. 學. people's needs. Yet, since both of them were important advocates of democracy it would be untrue to say that they had nothing in common.. ‧. Although the Czech Republic is officially a parliamentary democracy and the role of the. y. Nat. sit. president in terms of the foreign policy is according to the constitution of the Czech Republic. n. al. er. io. limited, as a matter of fact, presidents have always had a tremendous influence on both the policy. i n U. v. itself and the public view. Czech academia also seem to reflect this view – Hrabálek points out. Ch. engchi. that although formally the role of the president should be only marginal, in practice it is not like this (Hrabálek 32). Kořan agrees and emphasizes that the president has a lot possibilities to interpret his or her role in the foreign politics as he or she wishes (Kořan 14). Hence, the president of the Czech Republic (and formerly Czechoslovakia) has by no means a mere. 8. Tian Juanbao, "Jiekesiluofake" [Czechoslovakia], JSD, no. 3 (1990), pp. 17-21; as quoted in Marsh, Christopher. Unparalleled Reforms: China's Rise, Russia's Fall, and the Interdependence of Transition. Lexington Books, 2005.. 9. By a coincidence both presidents of the Czech Republic that this thesis aims to focus on are called Václav by their first name.. 20.

(28) representative function and his or her foreign policy conduct, even though in times contradictory to the official Czech Republic's foreign policy10 plays a very important role.. 2.3.1. Role of the President in the Foreign Policy of the Czech Republic Means of foreign policy of a state have been traditionally divided to diplomatic, military, economic and ideological. President in the context of the Czech Republic uses the diplomatic and ideological means. As the basic diplomatic means are usually considered mediation or. 政治大. facilitation of the communication among actors of world politics, negotiating of international. 立. treaties, collecting information, minimizing of conflicts and a symbolic role (Drulák a Druláková. ‧ 國. 學. 33–34). Whereas among the diplomatic tools, a president can use is usually considered, the direct negotiation and signalization.11. ‧ sit. y. Nat. From the legislative standpoint, the role of the president is defined in the Head III of the. io. er. Constitution of the Czech Republic. Rights of the president are defined mainly in Article 63. Yet,. al. the Article 62 also relates to the role of the president. Regarding the Article 63, there are three. n. iv n C points that need to be emphasize. The president according to this article first, represents the state heng chi U externally; second, negotiates and ratifies international treaties; third, delegates the negotiation of international treaties to the government or, with its consent, to individual members thereof; and last but not least, accredits and recalls heads of diplomatic missions. However, the Article 63. 10. The official standpoint of the Czech Republic has always been based on the One-China policy. Yet, for example statements of the former president Václav Havel at the United Nations Conference in 1995 are believed to be supporting the ROC's sovereignty and hence, in contrast with the official Czech Republic's standpoint.. 11. Signalization denotes an action which has a meaning in itself and moreover denotes another meaning in the given context (Drulák a Druláková 34–35).. 21.

(29) also states that as far as these rights and responsibilities, in order to be valid, decisions of the president of the Republic issued pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 require the countersignature of the Prime Minister or a member of the government designated by him. The second article which touches the role of the president in the Czech Republic is the Article 62, which states that president "appoints and recalls the Prime Minister and other members of the government and accepts their resignations, recalls the government and accepts its resignation". Since the Minister of the Foreign Affairs is a member of the government, the president can hence by his. 政治大. appointment of refusal to appoint significantly influence the direction of the foreign policy.. 立. Due to the significant extent of rights of the Czech president, as far as the foreign policy. ‧ 國. 學. in the Czech Republic is concerned, president is in times in conflict with the government (Hrabálek 31). Other authors from Czech academia generally support this view and also, express. ‧. belief that, as a matter of fact, it should be so (Thim a Jemelková 13). And hence, discussions. Nat. sit. y. both by academia and the general public concerning the role of the president in the foreign policy. n. al. er. io. of the Czech Republic are not rare.. Ch. i n U. v. As the survey conducted between 2002 and 2009 shows 12 , majority of Czech public. engchi. supports a president’s engagement in the foreign policy. Yet, majority of the supporting public prefer the engagement to be in harmony with the official line of the foreign policy as stated by the government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.. 12. Please refer to the Chart 1.. 22.

(30) Chart 1 The Role of the President in Regards to the Czech Republic's Foreign Policy (in %) Source: Škodová, Markéta. "Občané o ústavních pravomocích prezidenta a způsobu jeho volby." Centrum pro výzkum veřejného mínění Sociologický ústav AV ČR. 13 Feb. 2009. Web. 8 May.2013.p.2. April 2002. April 2005. January 2007. January 2008. January 2009. can be engaged but only in harmony with 65 the official line of the foreign policy as stated by government and ministry of foreign affairs. 54. 61. 64. 58. can be actively engaged independently on 15 the government. 26. 20. 16. 17. should be in charge of the foreign policy. 6. 9. 8. 9. 10. should not be engaged at all. 6. 6. 5. 6. 8. 政治大. 學. Nat. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 立. er. io. sit. In many respects, the foreign policy towards the PRC as conducted by Havel can be regarded as the opposite of that conducted by Klaus. Yet, it is important to keep in mind that. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. during Havel’s presidency, Klaus was already a very influential political figure, and in a certain. engchi. period of time he even held the post of Prime Minister. And, on the other hand, even after Havel left the presidential office, he actively engaged in both the political and societal life and hence, also exerted his influence during the Presidency of Václav Klaus.. The influence these two strong and significant figures manifested itself also in the policy of their advocates and opponents, which in cases that are related to the cause, will also be mentioned in the following parts of this chapter.. 23.

(31) 2.3.2. Václav Havel Václav Havel served in total three terms as a president – first 1989-1992 as the president of newly democratic Czechoslovakia and then two presidential terms during 1993-2003 as the president of the Czech Republic. Havel himself was persecuted during the communist rule – mainly because of his bourgeoisie family origins but later on also because of his political (= anticommunist) views. In one of the issues of the Rudé právo, the former communist press, Havel was labeled as "waging his "sacred" war with the socialist state" ("Kdo je Václav Havel" 6).. 政治大 and new topics that were introduced into foreign policy with the PRC. For Havel personally, 立 Havel was the perfect symbol of the transition of the Czechoslovakia to a democratic state. topics such as human rights or social activism were very dear and became the center stone of his. ‧ 國. 學. political activism both in terms of his national and foreign policy. His activism in this respect was. ‧. showed right at the beginning of his presidential terms as the president of the Czechoslovakia. His. sit. y. Nat. first New Year presidential speech in the office was a clear indicator that his anti-communist past. io. er. and his support for human rights are going to form main guidelines of his future policies both in respect to domestic and foreign affairs. In the speech he invited some of the biggest figures of. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. that time spiritual life – Dalai Lama and the Pope John Paul II to visit Czechoslovakia (Havel,. engchi. "Novoroční projev prezidenta ČSSR Václava Havla"). Dalai Lama accepted this invitation, came to Czechoslovakia on February 2, 1990 and stayed for five days. During his visit he met with the president and other important figures of Czechoslovakian spiritual life. This Havel's step is by some authors believed to mark the start of a tradition of “unofficial” Dalai Lama's visits all around the world. The PRC labeled the Dalai Lama visit as rude interference in internal affairs (粗暴干涉中国内政的政治行动) ("中华人民共和国务院公报" 17) and indicated that even. 24.

(32) though the visit was officially labeled as private, the Czech Republic should avoid inviting Dalai Lama again. Yet, the PRC resentment encouraged Havel even more and in March the same year he voiced his support for the PRC democracy movement in broadcasting from so-called French Goddess of Democracy – a ship which was at that time moving close to the PRC coast. Surprisingly, there was no setback in the relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC and several meetings Czechoslovakian and the PRC officials were conducted – for example the. 治政大of the two states to develop mutual Martin Palouš on February 27, 1991 which confirmed the will 立 relations; then Li Lanqing, PRC Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry meeting with the Prime meeting between Qian Qichen, the Deputy Foreign Minister and his Czechoslovakian counterpart. ‧ 國. 學. Minister Čalfa in June 1991; and later that year, Czechoslovakian Deputy Foreign Trade Minister. ‧. Marťák's visit of Beijing all showed that the relationship remained unchanged. Moreover, when the PRC Foreign Minister visited Czechoslovakia in September 15-17, 1991, he met both with. y. Nat. er. io. sit. President Havel and Prime Minister Čalfa and other high officials. The meeting was without conflict and in respect of Tibet, Qian Qichen even suggested to Czechoslovakian ambassador to. al. n. visit Tibet.13. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Havel's approach to the PRC in his following presidential years remained deeply influenced by his anti-communist past and strong belief in morals and human rights. He invited and met with Dalai Lama nine times, out of which five times while still holding the president office. These visits were for their assumed harmful effect on the relationship between the PRC and the Czech Republic and mainly on the Czech Republic's exports to the PRC harshly. 13. Československá zahraniční politika, Data, FMZV ČSFR, Praha, 1991, s.74, originally cited in Česko-čínské vztahy by Rudolf Fürst.. 25.

(33) criticized by both Czech politicians and media.14 Yet, as it is going to be proven in this thesis, these visits had no harmful effect on the Czech exports to the PRC. This view was moreover supported by Havel himself who stated that after the first Dalai Lama's visit to Czechoslovakia, the ambassador of the PRC himself indicated that Czechoslovakia should not take the PRC rhetoric reaction to the visit of the Dalai Lama in the Czechoslovakia literally and that the economic ties would remain unchanged (Kalenská). Separation of the Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovak republic that happened during the presidency of Havel did not have a. 治政 PRC officials, it is clear that the reduction of the state's大 size that naturally came with the 立 separation did not improve the Czech Republic's leverage. In 1994, Václav Klaus that time Prime major impact on the relationship between the Czech Republic and the PRC. In the eyes of the. ‧ 國. 學. Minister of the Czech Republic visited the PRC and the talks that followed had the tone that. ‧. became later on characteristic of all talks of the Czech Republic politicians with the PRC officials – hopes for the liberalization of the PRC market and exploring opportunities for the. y. Nat. io. sit. Czech business in the PRC. As it also became a Czech tradition the delegation to the PRC was. n. al. er. labeled as successful and the PRC market as relatively free and opened for the Czech business.15. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. The next Prime Minister delegation to the PRC followed in 1999. It was however preceded by delegations of other Czech officials, which concerned the contract regarding the Shentou plan and the Czech and Greek Kosovo initiative which was sealed up in Beijing. Czech. 14. See for example Janoutová Věra. Blesk 1993/?, str. ?: Rushdie nenídalajláma?1993-09-06 or V.R. Špígl 1993/?, str. ?: Další návštěva „Dalajlámy“? 1993-09-08, accesed through the digital library of Knihovna Václava Havla (Václav Havel Library).. 15. Fürst cites the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic here, but does not state a source. See Fürst, Rudol. Česko-čínské vztahy po roce 1989 p.51.. 26.

(34) Prime Minister Miloš Zeman traveled to Beijing on 16 December 1999 and was received by the President of the PRC Jiang Zemin, Premier Li Peng and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen. Zeman reaffirmed that the Czech Republic follows the One-China principle and refused interfering into the PRC's internal affairs. Yet, he also stated that "we [the Czech Republic] also does not wish anybody to lecture us." 16 One of the participants reported that Zeman's behavior was selfconfident and that he did not lose his posture even when he was questioned about that time antigovernment demonstrations in the Czech Republic. Zeman according to this participant replied. 治政 demonstrators, which reportedly irritated the PRC premier 大 (Fürst, Česko-čínské vztahy po roce 立 1989 52). Yet, it is interesting to note that the contract for the Shentou plant was signed during that the Czech Republic is a democratic country and that no-one would send tanks against the. ‧ 國. 學. this meeting. However, the next year the PRC conditioned the contract by financing of the. ‧. project from the Czech or Slovak side and hence, it was postponed again.. sit. y. Nat. Havel's foreign diplomacy can be generally characterized by promoting three areas –. n. al. er. io. human rights, multilateralism and international dialogue. In harmony with these areas of focus,. i n U. v. he was also a member of several organizations and groups, such as Shared Concern Initiative. Ch. engchi. (with Dalai Lama), Dalai Lama's Educating the Heart Dialogue (with Dalai Lama) and Committee of 100 for Tibet. In this context, his activities could have been frowned upon by the PRC officials. Distrust of these officials may have also been increased by the fact that Havel has never visited the PRC. His participation at the United Nations conference, where when answering a journalist's question supported sovereignty of the ROC, is seemingly still unforgiven in the PRC. This is evident on their website which although does not explicitly name Havel,. 16. Zahraniční politika ČR, Data, NZV ČR, Praha, 1999, p. 20-21; as quoted in Fürst, Rudol. Česko-čínské vztahy po roce 1989.. 27.

(35) clearly refers to his actions which they link to the "cooling of the relations" ("Politické vztahy Čínské lidové"). Havel himself later on commented his own statements in a radio interview by saying that he "only said aloud what everybody else was thinking" (Havel). Havel often strove to include the issue of human rights into the dialogue. He stated that he mentioned human rights during his talks with the PRC Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as with the Deputy Chairman of the PRC (Kalenská).. In terms of Czech foreign policy conduct towards the PRC, Havel stated that he beliefs. 政治大. that as a matter of fact, the PRC appreciates when somebody small dares to say something. 立. critical, and on the other hand, despises those who are afraid of them (Kalenská). He showed his. ‧ 國. 學. will to stretch limits of the PRC patience by (however not-realized) plan to visit the PRC and ROC within one journey.17 Yet, it must be emphasized that Havel's foreign policy towards the. ‧. PRC is not identical to the Czechoslovakian (or later the Czech Republic's) official policy and. Nat. sit. y. moreover, that in some instances Czechoslovakian (or later the Czech Republic's) officials acted. n. al. er. io. independently. For example in 1991, during the talks between Jiang Zemin, the General. i n U. v. Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the Czechoslovakian Prime Minister. Ch. engchi. Čalfa, the list of imprisoned Chinese activists which was prepared by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was not handed to Chinese officials. Deputy Chairman of the Czechoslovakian government explained later on that the list is to be handed on the non-official level.. In other instances, the PRC did not show the respect that the Czech side felt that would be appropriate. To illustrate this, for example the letter that was sent by Havel to Yang Shankung,. 17. Another proposed variant was to visit the PRC and Tibet simultaneously.. 28.

(36) the president of the PRC was left without answer.18 It is also interesting to note that both the web page of the Czech Republic embassy in Beijing and the PRC embassy web page in the Czech Republic does, as a matter of fact, ignore the existence of Václav Havel19 and according to some of the Czech media the death of Havel in 2011, was in the PRC not given the attention it would be appropriate and in the articles reporting his death no information regarding Havel's worldviews or his attitude towards the PRC was included ("Čína Havlovu smrt zasklila"). In contrast, the Czech side was at times ready to make major concessions – such as the. 政治大. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan's promotion of the "Czech-Greek Initiative", an alternative. 立. plan for a solution to the Kosovo conflict, which was supported by the PRC and Russia. The. ‧ 國. 學. initiative which was against the wishes of NATO, in which the Czech Republic had just become a member state, was sealed up in Beijing. This concession is believed to help to close the. ‧. contract for the Shentou plant, which however as it is discussed into economy part, was not much. Nat. er. io. sit. y. beneficial for the Czech side.. Throughout his presidency, Havel promoted both human rights issues and other "sensitive. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. areas" to the PRC but at the same time was engaged in the economic diplomacy. In 1997 and. engchi. 1998, he supported the resolution criticizing the PRC for human rights violations and appealing to the Czech government to emphasize the theme of human rights in the PRC. He moreover supported other events, such as Days of Tibet. In 2008, he also participated in protests and initiatives against the Olympic Games in the PRC. Yet, Havel was with no doubt also actively. 18. FMZV ČSFR, 1991, s. 720-726, as quoted in Fürts, Rudolf. Česko-čínské vztahy.. 19. See for example "Mutual relations between the Czech Republic and the People´s Republic of China - present and history", " Čínsko-české diplomatické styky" or "Politické vztahy Čínské lidové republiky a České republiky". 29.

(37) engaged in the economic diplomacy and also supported intensifying and deepening economic ties with the PRC. His conduct of economic policy was accordingly done under the condition that it will be done in a more sophisticated way, taking into account dominantly the longer-term consequence for the Czech Republic, and not the immediate economic gains (Kalenská). Even after he left the office, Havel actively participated in public life and the support of human rights. In respect of the human rights issue in the PRC, very significant was Havel's support of Charte 08 (零八宪章), a manifesto which adopts the name and style from the anti-Soviet Charter 77 issued by dissidents in Czechoslovakia, one of which was Havel himself. The Charte 08 was signed by over 350. 政治大. Chinese intellectual and human rights activities and published on 10th December 2008, the 60th. 立. anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On 6th of January 2006, Havel together with. ‧ 國. 學. other two signatories of Charte 77 attempted to hand a letter of protest to the PRC ambassador stationed in the Czech Republic. The letter was addressed to the President of the PRC Hu Jintao and asked for a fair. ‧. trial for the PRC imprisoned dissent Liu Siao-po (劉曉波) and the end of persecution of other signatories. Nat. sit. y. of the Charte 08. Moreover, the text clearly pointed out a link between the signatories of the Charte 08 and. io. er. the Czech Charte 77.20 The delegation of three former dissidents, including the former president of the. al. Czech Republic was not received at the embassy and had to resort to putting the letter into the embassy’s. n. iv n C mailbox. The spokesperson of the embassy an action was interfering into the PRC's h stated e n gthatcsuch hi U. internal affairs and that the case is fully within the jurisdiction of the PRC judicial system ("Číňané Třem králům Halvlovi").. The act of ignoring the Czech Republic's former president was not well received by many Czechs. In her reaction to that act, Olga Lomová, the head of the Sinology Department at Charles University, pointed out that such an action clearly downgraded the authority of the former. 20. Whole text of the letter can be found at "Otevřený dopis českých ex-chartistů ." Denik Referendum. 10 Jan. 2010. Web. 10 May 2013. <http://denikreferendum.cz/clanek/990-otevreny-dopis-ceskych-ex-chartistu-cinskemu-prezidentovi >.. 30.

(38) president of the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia and suggested that time President Klaus should take a clear stance on such a behavior, and address the topic in the talk with the PRC ambassador and thus, send a clear message that such a behavior is not acceptable ("Číňané Třem králům Havlovi").. In the ROC, Havel was popular and valued. Former ROC president, Chen Shuibian in November 2004 awarded him with the Order of the Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon which is awarded for promoting bilateral friendship with Taiwan or for advancing foreign. 政治大. relations with Taiwan. Havel can be regarded as having many followers among the Czech. 立. politicians, one of the most visible, both regarding his worldviews and attitude towards the PRC,. ‧ 國. 學. is the current Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who similarly to Havel advocates human rights and also lacks enthusiasm for the PRC and moreover, identically to Havel, he has never. ‧. visited the PRC.. y. Nat. er. io. sit. Havel was both during his life and after his death connected to many myths. Some originated in the communist propaganda, which emphasized his rich family background and. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. privileged upbringing. Others were related to his conduct during his term as the president, such as. engchi. the fact that his meetings with Dalai Lama had harmful effect on Czech exports to the PRC or that he significantly contributed to the demise of Czech weapons industry (Vražda). Hence, in the Czech Republic, Havel’s policies and activities were not welcomed by a considerable number of Czechs who felt his policies and actions were threatening the Czech economy and thus also, their own well-being. The chart below (Chart 2) clearly shows that the Czech Republic's exports to the PRC increased during the presidency of Václav Havel. It is interesting to note that Havel's meeting with Dalai Lama despite the widespread belief in the Czech Republic, had no harmful. 31.

(39) effect on the Czech export to the PRC.21 The decrease in 1996, 1997 and 1998 possible source from two sources – first, too close rapprochement between the Czech Republic the ROC and second, internal problems that Czech Republic was experiencing both politically and economically.22 Chart 2 Czech export to the PRC during the presidency of Václav Havel Source: "External Trade Database." Czech Statistical Office. Accessed on May 12. 2013., Yearbook." Czech Statistical Office. Accessed on May 12. 2013. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 21. For concrete data please refer to the part "The Urban Legend of Dalai Lama's Harmful Effect".. 22. For concrete data please refer to the part "Taiwan".. 32.

(40) The PRC import to the Czech Republic as the Chart below (Chart 3) illustrates was stably raising throughout the whole period of Havel's presidency. Even during the period of a decline in the Czech Republic's export to the PRC, the PRC import remained raising. This clearly shows that in contrast to the PRC government, the Czech government did not take any action in terms of the PRC imports to the Czech Republic.23 Chart 3. Czech import to the PRC during the presidency of Václav Havel Source: "External Trade Database." Czech Statistical Office. Accessed on May 12. 2013.,. 政治大. "Yearbook." Czech Statistical Office. Accessed on May 12. 2013. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. 23. Ch. engchi. For more information please refer to the "Money" chapter.. 33. i n U. v.

(41) The following Chart on trade deficit between the Czech Republic and the ROC clearly shows the rapid development of the trade deficit, which emerged as a result of the lack of regulation of PRC imports to the Czech Republic. Chart 4 Trade deficit during the presidency of Václav Havel. Source: "External Trade Database." Czech Statistical Office. Accessed on May 12. 2013., "Yearbook." Czech Statistical Office. Accessed on May 12. 2013. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 2.3.3. Václav Klaus Background of the second President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus is very different than Havel's. Before 1989, he was not engaged in politics. After the Velvet revolution, Klaus became engaged in the same party as Havel – Občanské fórum (OF). Yet, short time after, due to ideological clashes with Havel, he and his followers separated and formed a right-wing oriented Civic Democratic Party (ODS). In June 1992, he was elected Prime Minister. However, in 1997. 34.