He blocked them under fire from critics because of Chinese ties. It doesn’t give us a good name, colleagues react Home

Prague The accusation of Chinese ties, which was pointed out this week by the influential Brussels newspaper Politico, is not facing ODS MEP Jan Zahradil for the first time. In the past, he became famous as a supporter of the Chinese New Silk Road project, associated with the person of President Xi Jinping.

He is also the first member of the European Parliament to choose the Chinese Gai Lin as his assistant, but according to Zahradil he has all the security checks. But he is the one in the extensive article that analyzes Zahradil’s dangerous connection to Beijing.

Gai Lin acts as Secretary-General of Zahradil-led EU-China Friendship Group, has helped organize at least a dozen European legislators’ missions to China over the past 15 years, and is literally a thorn in the side of some European lawmakers, according to Lidovky.cz.

The article mapping the screening of the Chinese lobby into the activities of the Czech MEP is considered alarming by many, but it is not a big surprise for them.

“You can’t expect anything else from the head of the EU-China Friendship Group, acting as a Chinese lobby,” said Dita Charanzová (YES), Vice-President of the European Parliament, to Lidovky.cz, saying that joining the Czech MEP is nothing to be proud of. “It does not do the good name of the Czech Republic,” she added.

According to the head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Pavel Fischer, Zahradil has long been very helpful and understanding in relation to China. “I have nothing against friendship with the people of China, but I remain very vigilant towards anyone trying to downplay strategic and security issues. And for that reason, I am also wary of Mr. Zahradil’s statements, “Fischer told the Lidovky.cz server.

Zahradil: Sensation where it is not

Zahradil himself objected to the accusation of Chinese influence and said that Politico was trying to find a sensation where it was not. According to him, the article is full of indications, unspoken suspicions, speculative conclusions, personal and political attacks from competitors. He categorically rejects these speculations as damaging his expertise, credibility and credit.

His factional and party fellow MEP Alexandr Vondra expressed support for his party colleague, according to whom European greens and pirates could be behind the text. “It’s a lot of noise for nothing,” Vondra told the Lidovky.cz server.

According to the head of Czech diplomacy, there are many “groups of friends” in the European Parliament. “A group of friends of China has existed there for many years and many Western European deputies worked in it,” Vondra added, adding that Zahradil’s work there did not endanger security and foreign interests.

“These can be summed up by the fact that, as ODS, we are fundamentally opposed to the participation of Chinese companies in strategic areas, such as nuclear power plants, 5G networks, on the other hand, we have nothing against mutually beneficial trade,” Vondra concluded.

Despite repeated inquiries, the Lidovky.cz server was unable to obtain the reaction of the ODS leaders; only Adéla Brandová from the party’s press department gave a brief comment. “The article in Politico has no factual background,” she said.

On the other hand, the spokesman for the President of the Republic, Jiří Ovčáček, did not spare words, calling the text an ideological nonsense on his Twitter account. “For forty years we have had such pressures full of newspapers, magazines, radio and television. And here it is again, “he wrote.

The EU-China Friendship Group was formed in the European Parliament in 2006 when it was founded by British Conservative MEP Nirj Deva. Zahradil took over the reins in 2019. During the existence of the group, 15 trips of legislators to China took place, all at the invitation of Chinese institutions. The Chinese government allegedly also covered travel and accommodation costs.

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