58. Taiwan-Europe Relations 2026: Matej Šimalčík (CEIAS)
About this episode
Matej Šimalčík discusses Taiwan's relations with Europe and the impact of China's influence in Central Europe.
Matej Šimalčík is the Executive Director of CEIAS (Central European Institute of Asian Studies), a think tank that focuses on foreign and security policy issues related to East Asia. Its new report “Partners in need, partners indeed? Tracking Europe-Taiwan relations amidst global disruption” is an updated overview of Taiwan’s relations with 30 European countries. Šimalčík’s research looks at China’s economic and political presence and influence in Central Europe, elite relations, corrosive capital, and the role of European legal instruments in mitigating risks posed by China. In 2022, he founded the China-Europe Academic Engagement Tracker project. In 2025 Šimalčík was a visiting fellow at Taiwan’s INDSR (Institute for National Defense and Security Research). Taiwan and Czechia relations are at an old time high, but results of the 2025 Czech parliamentary election has raised concerns on the future of the relations. Key decisions makers mentioned today include Andrej Babiš (Czech Prime Minister, since December 2025; 2017-2021), Lin Chia-lung (Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs, since 2024 )…
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