By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, March 28: Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day state visit to Czech capital beginning today, protesters have defaced Chinese flags on display in the streets of Prague.
Many Chinese flags hung on the airport road in preparation for the visit have been splashed with black paint by protesters who are opposed to the Chinese government’s suppression of the cultural and human rights inside Tibet.
The defaced flags since replaced were referred to as security lapse and signs of concealed hostility by the Chinese government mouth piece Global Times. Its editorial earlier mentioned that the incidents showed, “major lapses from the Prague police and the hidden hostility in Czech society” towards China.
Pro Tibet groups are expected to stage protests and also plan to install a giant photo of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama alongside the photo of former Czech President Vaclav Havel. Late Vaclav Havel, a former dissident and human rights activist, was a personal friend of the Tibetan leader.
There is a strong support for Tibet movement in Czech Republic due to the Tibetan leader’s personal friendship with the late president of the erstwhile communist nation. On the 57th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising observed on the 10th of March this year, municipalities, offices, and individuals participated in the “flag for Tibet” initiative where the Tibetan flags were displayed on the buildings for the day. Earlier this month, more than 700 municipalities across Czech Republic participated in the event, the most since its inception in 1996.
The current President and host Milos Zeman’s keenness to roll out the red carpet for Xi who incidentally is the first Chinese President to visit the country have come under criticism from opposition and rights groups alike. Xi will also be the first foreign dignitary to visit the Presidential residence outside Prague.
The state visit to develop bilateral ties between the two countries includes a business forum and the signing of Chinese investments in the nation of 10.6 million people. China is Prague’s third-biggest trade partner, with bilateral trade worth some US$21 billion.
