Okamura, ahead of China trip, reveals new details about detained Czech citizen: he has a Chinese wife

Ahead of his upcoming trip to China, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura shared new details about a Czech citizen recently detained by Chinese authorities. “This may come as news to you, but he is married to a Chinese woman,” the SPD party leader said during a televised debate on CNN Prima News.

According to Okamura, the trip is primarily aimed at boosting Czech-Chinese trade relations, though he admitted the visit's agenda also includes talks on the detainee's case. “I met with the leadership of the Czech intelligence services. I have the fullest possible information and am ready to handle the relevant consular matters,” he added.

His debate opponent, Zdeněk Hřib, leader of the opposition Pirate Party, argued that under the current circumstances the trip — which is also set to include Czech entrepreneurs — should be postponed. “This visit will only serve to legitimize China's actions,” Hřib said.

News of the Czech citizen's detention in China was first reported a few days ago by Seznam Zprávy. The man is a Czech entrepreneur who had long done business in China and was detained by local authorities at an airport in late June.

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed that consular staff had been in contact with the detainee but did not disclose further details, citing personal data protection. According to the outlet Deník N, the man works for Eldis, a company belonging to the CSG group owned by billionaire Michal Strnad. The company itself declined to comment on the situation, saying none of its employees had been detained.

Security sources suggest the detention could be linked to the case of Chinese national Yang Yiming, who is suspected of espionage in the Czech Republic and is currently facing criminal prosecution there. Under this theory, Beijing may be resorting to so-called “hostage diplomacy,” creating leverage for a potential exchange. Chinese diplomats have not officially confirmed any connection, but alongside the news of the Czech citizen's detention, they called on Prague to immediately release a Chinese national — whom they describe as a journalist — arguing his detention was unjustified.

On Thursday, Beijing officially confirmed that the Czech citizen is under investigation on suspicion of endangering China's state security.

The Czech Foreign Ministry said consular officials have visited the detained man and remain in contact with him. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motoristé party), however, denied that the Czech government has confirmed information about a direct link between the two cases. He said the detainee is not being held in prison but in a facility run by China's Ministry of Public Security, that he is in satisfactory condition, and that basic detention conditions are being provided.

Pirate Party leader Zdeněk Hřib, by contrast, is convinced the two cases are connected, and dismissed Macinka's remarks as an attempt to downplay the issue. “The timing alone makes the connection obvious. Pretending there isn't one is naive,” he said, adding that Okamura's current trip to China is inappropriate.

Okamura himself says he intends to use the visit to attract more Chinese tourists to Czechia, push for visa-free travel, and increase the number of flights between the two countries. Another stated goal of the trip is to organize a major exhibition of the Terracotta Army in Czechia.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz