While noting that Russia was “undermining” Czech democracy and security, with disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks, Pompeo considered China’s “campaigns of coercion of control” a greater danger.
“In your country alone, we see campaigns of influence against your politicians and security forces, the theft of industrial data, and the use of economic leverage to stifle even freedom,” he said.
As an example, Pompeo cited the cancellation of a concert tour by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in China last year due to Mayor Zdeněk Hřib’s pro-Taiwan policy.
“The CCP is using economic power to force countries,” Pompeo said.
In his speech, Pompeo recalled the decades of Czech domination by the Soviet Union and the Czech Communist Party, which ran the country ungovernable from 1948 to 1989.
“Your nation, and others who have suffered under the Iron Curtain, know best of all how deeply communist society is plunging into ruin and oppression,” he said. “When the Iron Curtain finally fell, Americans were happy in your freedom.”
In remembrance of Czech opposition to communist rule, he urged Czech senators “to stand up for the sovereignty and freedoms demanded of you and your countrymen on the streets of Prague in 1968, in the document Charter 77, and on the Wenceslas Square in 1989. “
Pompeo’s visit, which began on Tuesday, comes as Czech senators prepared an official trip to Taiwan from August 30 to September 4. The delegation will be accompanied by Hřib as well as representatives of more than 40 Czech companies.
The Senate’s speech came after a working lunch with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. At a joint press conference after the meeting, Pompeo slammed China for its repression of protests in Hong Kong, calling Beijing the oppression of Uighur Muslims “the man of the rights of the century”, saying it was “held by companies like Huawei, using technology that the secret police could only have dreamed of. ‘(Telecom giant Huawei has repeatedly denied US allegations that it is spying for the Chinese government through its 5G device.)
He also set a tone to help the Czech Republic build its 5G network and expand its energy infrastructure.
The Czechs plan to build three new nuclear power plants by 2040. Potential bidders for the contract include US company Westinghouse, Russia’s Rusatom and China General Nuclear Power Corp.
Pompeo said working with an American company “would be a great opportunity to increase energy security for the Czech Republic and the entire region.”
But Babiš was non-committal. He expressed disappointment that China had invested so little in the country, saying, “With all due respect to our American investors, I want more investment from China.”
Pompeo will travel to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana on Thursday, followed by stops in Austria and Poland.
