January 29, 2023

No. 024

General Petr Pavel, who formerly served as Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Military Committee, was elected President of the Czech Republic with 58.32 percent of the vote in the second round of presidential elections held from January 27 to 28. He will officially take office in early March to become the fourth President of the Czech Republic since its independence in 1993. President Tsai Ing-wen promptly extended heartfelt congratulations to President-elect Pavel on behalf of the people and government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on the evening of January 28.

President Tsai expressed her delight at the Czech Republic writing a new chapter in democratic advancement with the smooth completion of its presidential elections. Wishing President-elect Pavel every success during his term in office, President Tsai said she looked forward to Taiwan and the Czech Republic continuing to cooperate closely based on shared values, promote substantive exchanges on issues across all domains, and deepen their democratic partnership.

The second round of the Czech Republic presidential elections drew widespread attention from all sectors. Voter turnout reached a significant high of 70.25 percent, up 3.68 percentage points from 66.57 percent in the previous presidential election in 2018. The figure was a record high since the first direct presidential election was held in 2013.

The Czech Republic is an important like-minded partner of Taiwan in Europe. The two countries share the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights, as well as enjoy close collaboration in economics and trade, science and technology, culture, education, and other areas. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have strengthened antipandemic cooperation and collaborated on critical industries so as to bolster the resilience of democratic supply chains. Following the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022, the two countries have also worked together proactively to help shelter Ukrainian refugees displaced by the conflict.

In its Policy Statement of the Government issued last year, the Czech Republic listed Taiwan among priority partner countries in the Indo-Pacific. It later introduced an Indo-Pacific policy framework reaffirming Taiwan as a major partner in its future Indo-Pacific strategy, calling for the steady deepening of cooperation and engagement with Taiwan and other democratic partners in the Indo-Pacific and reiterating its close attention to the situation across the Taiwan Strait and issues in the South China Sea.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the R.O.C. (Taiwan) sincerely congratulates General Pavel on his election as President and hopes that the two countries can build on the existing foundation of robust bilateral relations to promote prosperity and well-being for their peoples. (E)