Prague, June 15 (CNA) Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Wednesday visited a non-profit organization that has been helping Ukrainian refugees get settled in the Czech Republic, and he pledged Taiwan's continued support for them, according to his ministry.
During the visit by Wu and his wife to the People in Need headquarters in Prague, a choir of Ukrainian refugee children sang to them and presented them with a cake, Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a press release Thursday.
In welcoming the couple, People in Need Executive Director Simon Panek expressed thanks to Taiwan and the other global partners that have been helping his non-governmental organization to assist Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic, the ministry said.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Czech Republic has taken in around 500,000 Ukrainian refugees, according to Panek.
In response, Wu said that not only has Taiwan provided financial aid and disaster relief supplies for the refugees via humanitarian organizations, it has also joined the international community in condemning the invasion and imposing sanctions on Russia.
Taiwan will continue to work closely with the Czech Republic to support Ukraine until the invaders depart, he said.
As of February this year, the government and people of Taiwan had donated 27 tons of emergency medical supplies and 700 tons of humanitarian relief aid for Ukrainians, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Taipei.
Taiwan has also donated more than US$41 million to humanitarian organizations working with Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania to help settle Ukrainian refugees in those countries, the MOFA data showed.
Meanwhile, earlier Wednesday, Wu attended the opening of the European Values Summit, which was addressed by Czech President Petr Pavel.
The one-day summit, held by the Czech-based European Values Center for Security Policy, marked the first time that a Taiwan foreign minister was in the same public space as a NATO head of state, according to the think tank's director Jakub Janda.
Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China (ROC), has no formal diplomatic ties with any European country, except the Vatican.
MOFA said Wu's visit to the Czech Republic was mainly for the one-day summit, which was in its 9th edition and was focused on security policy.
Wu arrived in the Czech Republic on Tuesday and met with Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil. On Wednesday, he met informally for dinner with Marketa Pekarova-Adamova, head of the Czech lower house of parliament, her spokesperson said.
According to international media reports, Wu visited Poland on his way to the Czech Republic and is expected to stop over in Brussels on his way home from Prague.
When asked at a press event in Prague about his reported travel agenda in Europe, Wu declined to give CNA any details, saying only that he would take the opportunity to participate in as many events as possible.
"But the key to the success of a trip like this is to maintain a low profile," he added.
