Taiwan: The Taiwan President Ms. Tsai Ing-wen has welcomed a large Czech delegation to the island after once-loyal ally Honduras switched allegiance to Beijing.

Although the number of countries that retain formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan has reduced to just 13 after the move by Honduras, US allies like the Czech Republic have been offering support for the democratic island.

The roughly 150-person Czech delegation that arrived in Taipei was led by the speaker of the lower chamber of the Czech parliament, Ms. Marketa Pekarova Adamova.

After meeting Ms. Pekarova Adamova at the presidential office, Ms. Tsai noted she had come to Taiwan despite “great pressure,” in a veiled reference to Chinese criticism of her visit.

“Taiwan and the Czech Republic have both been through authoritarian rule and deeply understand that democracy has not come easily, so we can become firm partners with each other on the road of upholding democracy and freedom,” Ms. Tsai commented.

“We believe in the same values and principles, among them, the most important are freedom, democracy, and protection of human rights. Nobody can threaten us with not adhering to these rights,” the Taiwan President added.

The Taiwan Economy Minister Ms. Wang Mei-hua stated that the timing of the Honduran announcement and the Czech delegation’s arrival were two different things, but that the Czech visit was important.

“This visit of the delegation to Taiwan certainly represents that Taiwan is in a democratic alliance,” Ms. Mei-hua added.

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