Okamura Meets with Heads of Czech Intelligence Services Ahead of China Trip

SPD party leader Tomio Okamura has said that ahead of his planned trip to China, he held a meeting with the heads of Czech intelligence services to exchange information. He declined to disclose details of the meeting, noting only that the delegation is ready to discuss not just trade and tourism issues with the Chinese side, but consular matters as well.

Okamura's trip was sharply criticized by his longtime debate rival, Pirate Party chairman Zdeněk Hřib. In his view, given the current situation, Okamura should not be traveling to China at all, as doing so legitimizes Beijing's policies and its "hostage diplomacy."

Earlier this week, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that China had detained a Czech citizen. According to the ministry, the man is in satisfactory health and remains in contact with the embassy in Beijing, though further details are being withheld to protect his personal data. For its part, China stated that the man is being investigated on suspicion of endangering state security, while simultaneously demanding the release of a Chinese national suspected of espionage in the Czech Republic.

Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists party) stressed that the two cases are not connected. Okamura also discussed the detained Czech with the foreign minister, though the ministry has not yet asked him to assist in efforts to secure his compatriot's release.

Besides Hřib, other opposition MPs have also condemned the China trip. Former Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (STAN) wrote on social media that the visit should never have taken place at all, since "the current level of bilateral relations clearly doesn't warrant it."

Source: novinky.cz