Taiwan, Czech leaders affirm ties in defiance of Beijing

BEIJING (AP) — Taiwan says its president has affirmed ties with the Czech Republic in a phone call with the Central European nation’s President-elect Petr Pavel. The call represents a symbolic breach of China’s attempts to isolate the self-governing island democracy, which Beijing claims as its own territory with no right to independent diplomatic recognition. President Tsai Ing-wen said Monday that Taiwan and the Czech Republic “enjoy deep ties and share the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights.” China had no immediate response but in past has responded with condemnation and threats of retaliation over contacts with Taiwan by politicians whose countries have formal relations with Beijing.