Over a thousand delegates from China, the Czech Republic and other European states gathered at Prague Castle on Thursday for the start of a China Investment Forum, the biggest event of its kind ever held in this country. It comes amid Czech efforts to boost relations and business with the world’s most populous state – some say at the loss of a principled stand on human rights.
Up to 38 million crowns in incentives will be used in order to promote a direct air connection between Prague and China, Tomáš Neřold, spokesman for the Ministry of Transport told the Czech News Agency (Č TK) on Wednesday. The announcement came after a meeting between the ministers of transport from both of the respective countries and representatives of Czech Aeroholding, a state owned air transport group which includes Czech Airlines.
Each summer the small eastern Bohemian town of Dobruška becomes a home to dozens of people from around the world who come to reconnect with the language and customs of their Czech ancestors. The summer programme, organized by Prague’s Charles University and supported by the Czech government, offers intensive language courses as well as an insight into Czech culture and way of life.
Last year the placing of pianos in public places became a huge hit in Prague and other Czech cities. Now the man behind the project, Ondřej Kobza, has made a fresh move – on Monday the urban activist and café owner unveiled a public chess table at Prague’s Náměstí Míru, with other sites are set to follow soon.
Among the small number of Czech directors in competition at the Karlovy Vary festival, which gets underway next weekend, will be documentarian Martin Dušek, with his latest work Into the Clouds We Gaze. The witty filmmaker, who comes from the North Bohemian town of Česká Lípa, suggests as the starting point for our tour of “his Prague” the place where he works. One of the city’s most distinctive Functionalist structures, it’s a large building by Vltavská metro station owned by developer Orco and currently home to rather rough and ready office spaces.
The Czech Republic has lost one of its most respected artists: Adriena Šimotová, who passed away on Monday at the age of 87. Šimotová, who was banned from exhibiting in Communist Czechoslovakia during the so-called ‘Normalisation period’, went from a classic painter’s approach early in her career to a more abstract but also figurative style, often working with images in fabric or paper.
Business News this Friday: Finance Ministry shuffles explosives firm over to Ministry of Industry & Trade; low-cost carrier Ryanair returns to Czech skies; Russian group sells Vítkovice Steel; most Czechs would rather hang onto the crown than adopt the euro.
This Tuesday sees Czech-born author Milan Kundera, who has lived and worked in France since the mid-1970s, turn 85. Although the Czech media has reported extensively on the occasion, it is no secret the author of acclaimed novels like The Joke and Immortality, has a complicated relationship with his homeland, not allowing novels after The Unbearable Lightness of Being to be published in Czech.
Czech Catholic priest and academic Tomáš Halík has received the Templeton Prize in recognition of his efforts to bridge gaps between atheists and believers and his underground work under communism. The honour, which comes with a large monetary award, has in the past gone to Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, and other internationally renowned spiritual leaders.
Fifteen years ago on March 12, the Czech Republic joined NATO, a moment which remains a milestone in the country’s history. Czechs had spent some 40 years under Moscow domination and it was the scrapping of the Warsaw Pact in 1991 – and the joining of NATO in 1999 – that cemented the country’s place in the West.
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