Authors

Discussion

The presentation examines the development of the Czechoslovak conception of the Republic of China between 1918 and 1989 with special focus on the period following Chiang Kai-Shek's move to Taiwan. Drawing on a combination of diplomatic and internal governmental documents of Czechoslovakia and the ROC and supplemented by analysis of the period press, the presentation tackles questions such as, how did Czechoslovakia handle the complex period of China’s civil war in terms of diplomatic representation or trade? How did Czechoslovakia’s perception and treatment of ROC change following 1949, after the Sino-Soviet split and during the period of normalisation? And what factors contributed to the uniquely quick establishment and flourishing of mutual relations following the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989? The research fills a gap in existing scholarship on Czechoslovak–Chinese relations by examining the dynamics between Prague and Taipei during Czechoslovakia’s communist era and helps to contextualise the friendly relations the two governments enjoy today.