ODS on the sidelines in Taiwan
Chinese Amb. Zhang Jianmin said in Sept. 2019 that bilateral relations were in their most fruitful period in history. He cited Škoda Auto, Home Credit and Petrof pianos as companies for which China was the biggest overseas market. Three months later his embassy mentioned these same three companies in a threatening letter sent to the office of Pres. Miloš Zeman and said that Czech enterprises with economic interests in China would have to pay if Senate Pres. Jaroslav Kubera of ODS followed through with a planned visit to Taiwan. Kubera died soon thereafter, but his successor, Miloš Vystrčil of ODS, made the trip and is now planning another one. Škoda and PPF's Home Credit have since pulled out of China, and Petrof said a year ago that its business there wasn't paying off. ODS, once the businessperson's party, continues to put value signaling over pragmatism. Which means on a very practical level that it probably won't be part of the major geopolitical shift in the global world order that is now taking place.
Glossary of difficult words
on the sidelines - in a position where one is observing a situation rather than being directly involved in it;value signaling - the act of publicly expressing opinions, behaviors or choices to demonstrate one's moral values, character or commitment to a cause.