Czech foreign minister says Prague not closing the door on human rights issues in China

The Czech government will continue to bring up the question of human rights in talks with Chinese officials, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek told journalists in the lower house on Friday in response to questions pertaining to the country’s foreign policy on this matter in the wake of President Miloš Zeman’s visit to China. During talks with Chinese top officials in Beijing the Czech president said Prague would not question China’s stand on Tibet or Taiwan and stressed that he had not come to the country to mentor its officials about human rights. The Czech Foreign Minister said that while the Czech Republic had economic interests in China it would not close the door on human rights issues.