China ‘plotted staged car crash’ targeting Taiwan VP during Prague visit, Czech intelligence says

Taiwan’s vice-president, Hsiao Bi-khim, visited the Czech Republic in March 2024, marking the first overseas trip by her and Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, after winning the election in January.

At the time, reports emerged that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following her police-escorted car from the airport.

Now, Prague intelligence officials have told local media that the incident was part of a much larger and escalating plan by Chinese diplomats and intelligence officers working out of the Chinese embassy in Prague. The plan allegedly included staging a car crash involving Hsiao’s convoy.

On Saturday, Hsiao thanked Czech authorities for ensuring her safety during the visit. “The CCP’s unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan’s interests in the international community,” she said in a social media post.

Hsiao has insisted she will not be intimidated following reports from Czech intelligence that Chinese officials planned to stage a collision during her visit to Prague last year.

The new details of the alleged plot were revealed on Thursday by the Czech public radio service, Irozhlas.

Petr Bartovský, director of the Czech military intelligence service, told Irozhlas that the driver stopped by police was only following Hsiao. However, he said his service also discovered plans, directed from the Chinese embassy, to “demonstratively confront Ms Hsiao.”

Jan Pejšek, a spokesperson for the intelligence service, said the plan involved an “attempt by the Chinese civil secret service to create conditions for a demonstrative kinetic action against a protected person, which, however, did not go beyond the phase of preparation.” Czech reporters said this was understood to mean staging a collision with Hsiao’s car.

Pejšek added that the activities of the Chinese agents “went so far as to endanger” Hsiao. “These activities, which flagrantly breach the obligations arising from the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, were conducted, among others, by individuals holding diplomatic posts at the Chinese embassy in Prague,” he said.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Friday condemned the alleged actions by China, saying they “seriously threatened the personal safety of Vice-President Hsiao and her entourage,” and demanded an explanation and a public apology.

Meanwhile, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, denied any wrongdoing, saying Chinese diplomats “always observe the laws and regulations of host countries.” Guo accused the Czech government of “grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs” by allowing Hsiao to visit and labelled her a “diehard Taiwan independence separatist” — a designation for which China has previously threatened the death penalty.