China criticises former Taiwan president's visit to Prague

PRAGUE (Reuters) - China's embassy in Prague criticised on Tuesday a visit by former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen to the Czech capital, where she met senior officials and spoke at a conference on democracy and human rights.

The Czech Republic, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but the two sides have moved closer as Beijing ratchets up military threats against the island and Taipei seeks new friends in Eastern and Central Europe.

"The position of China on the Taiwan question is consistent and clear and it is decidedly against any separatists for 'Taiwan independence' under any name travelling to countries that have diplomatic relations with China," the embassy said on its website.

The embassy said it urged the Czech side to "respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China".

Tsai addressed the Forum 2000 conference in Prague on Monday, where she shook hands with Czech President Petr Pavel and held meetings with the heads of both chambers of Czech parliament.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Gareth Jones)