Prague Society

17/07/2026

China Detains Businessman with Ties to Czechoslovak Group

The Seznam Zprávy website reported on Wednesday that China had detained a Czech citizen at the end of June. A few hours later, Deník N added that he was a businessman working with Eldis, a company that belongs to Michal Strnad's CSG arms group. The man arrived in the country at the invitation of Chinese authorities to certify airport radars. Czech security forces are working on the theory that Beijing could try to use his detention to exchange Yang Yiming, a Prague correspondent for the party newspaper Guangming Zhipao, suspected of espionage. Czech authorities accused him of working for a foreign power in January this year and he is now awaiting trial.

Čína zadržela českého občana. České bezpečnostní složky pracují s verzí, že bude tlačit na jeho výměnu za propagandistu Jang I-mina, který sedí v Česku ve vazbě s obviněním ze špionáže.

12/06/2026

Farewell Luncheon Honouring the Korean Ambassador at the Ambasada Café, Pod Kaštany 12.

14/05/2026

Based on the article, there is strong evidence that the Soviet Union built and maintained nuclear warhead storage infrastructure in what was then Czechoslovakia, but there is no publicly confirmed proof that actual nuclear warheads were permanently stored there.

- The Soviet Union constructed three highly secret nuclear-storage facilities under the codename “Javor” between 1966 and 1969 at Milovice, Ralsko, and Misov.
- These bunkers were specifically designed for Soviet nuclear warheads and reportedly had capacity for 576 warheads.
- Soviet-operated missile systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons were deployed in Czechoslovakia.
- The facilities were controlled by Soviet troops and built to withstand nuclear attack.

However, the article repeatedly stresses that historians cannot definitively confirm whether live nuclear warheads were ever actually present inside those bunkers because the decisive Soviet/Russian archival records remain inaccessible.

Decades after the end of the Cold War, experts are still debating whether the Soviet Union actually stored live nuclear warheads in three top-secret bunkers in Czechoslovakia. We visited the decaying sites to see what remains of this terrifying legacy.

30/04/2026

Chinese sanctions on Czech arms companies.

The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China announced on the 24th Aprilo that seven European Union entities would be added to China’s export control list, with an immediate ban on the export of dual-use goods to those organizations. Included in this list are four Czech firms: Excalibur, Omnipol, VZLU Aerospace, and SpaceKnow.

According to a ministry spokesperson, the measures specifically target a small number of EU military-related companies accused by Beijing of participating in arms sales to Taiwan or cooperating with Taiwanese authorities. China presented the move as a focused response connected to Taiwan-related defence activities rather than a broader action against the European Union as a whole.

According to Announcement No. 20 of 2026 issued by the Ministry of Commerce, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Export Control Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items of the People's Republic of China, it has been decided to add seven EU entities, including Herstal, to the export control list. Exporters are prohibited from exporting dual-use items to these entities, and foreign organizations and individuals are prohibited from transferring or providing dual-use items originating in the People's Republic of China to these entities. Furthermore, any ongoing related activities must cease immediately. This announcement takes effect from the date of its publication.
The seven EU entities mentioned above are Herstal (Belgium), Omnipol (Czech Republic), Hensolt (Germany), Safran (Czech Republic), SpaceKnow (Czech Republic), the Czech Aerospace Research and Testing Institute, and FN Browning (Belgium). Taiwan's United Daily News reported on the 24th that most of these seven EU entities subject to Chinese export controls operate in the fields of military industry, defense electronics, aerospace, or satellite intelligence analysis. China Times News Network stated that this move is widely interpreted as the latest countermeasure by China in response to foreign military cooperation with Taiwan. The media outlet analysed that in recent years, China's response to arms sales to Taiwan has become increasingly institutionalized, mainly through mechanisms such as the "unreliable entity list" to impose sanctions, including restricting companies' import and export activities and investment activities in mainland China, and even freezing related assets.

24/04/2026

The Russian Embassy in Prague is completely surrounded.
Boris Nemtsov Square. Anna Politkovskaya Promenade. Alexey Navalny Outlook. Ukrainian Heroes Street.
Every diplomat, every car, every delivery — all of it moves through names the Kremlin tried to erase.
No one does this quite like Prague.

The Russian Embassy in Prague is completely surrounded.

Boris Nemtsov Square. Anna Politkovskaya Promenade. Alexey Navalny Outlook. Ukrainian Heroes Street.

Every diplomat, every car, every delivery — all of it moves through names the Kremlin tried to erase.

No one does this quite like Prague.

Support link is in the first comment.

27/03/2026

Senate of the Czech Parliament supports election of Dalai Lama without Chinese interference. 'He wouldn't have support,' says Vice Speaker Seitlová.

The Chinese communist regime should not interfere in the election of the future Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, according to the Senate, even though it controls the territory of Tibet. The senators agreed on this on Wednesday at the end of their March meeting on the proposal of the Senate Committee on Human Rights. The Chinese Embassy in Prague has in the past described similar activities as interference in China's internal affairs. Source: iRozhlaz

„Takto zvolený představitel by neměl žádnou kulturní, náboženskou ani komunitní autenticitu nebo podporu,“ uvedla místopředsedkyně Senátu Jitka Seitlová (KDU-ČSL).

20/03/2026

PRC Cyber-attacks : The European Council sanctions three entities and two individuals

16 March 2026: The Council adopted today restrictive measures against three entities and two individuals responsible for cyber-attacks carried out against EU member states and EU partners.

The Council has listed Integrity Technology Group, a China-based company, that has routinely provided products used to compromise and access devices in EU members states, across Europe and worldwide. Between 2022 and 2023, through their technical and material support, more than 65,000 devices were hacked across six member states.

Similarly, Anxun Information Technology, a China-based company, has provided hacking services aimed at the critical infrastructure and critical functions of member states and third countries. The two Chinese individuals also listed today by the Council, are co-founders of the company and were responsible for and involved in cyber-attacks affecting EU member states.

Lastly, the Iranian company Emennet Pasargad has unlawfully gained access to a French subscriber database and advertised its contents for sale on the dark web. They also compromised advertising billboards to spread disinformation during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Additionally, the company compromised a Swedish SMS service, impacting a large number of EU citizens.

Those listed today under both regimes are subject to an asset freeze, and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to them. Natural persons also face a travel ban that prohibits them from entering or transiting through EU territories.

With today’s listings the EU horizontal cyber sanctions regime now applies to 19 individuals and 7 entities.

The Council adopted restrictive measures against three entities and two individuals responsible for cyber-attacks against EU member  states and EU partners.

08/03/2026

The war in Ukraine could have ended sooner if Kyiv had received the same air defense systems deployed in the Gulf countries during the first seven days of the war in the Middle East, Finnish President Alexander Stubb believes.

In an interview with Bloomberg, he estimated that the first week of hostilities in Iran alone cost approximately $40 billion—roughly the same amount European countries spend annually on aid to Ukraine.

He also stated that strikes on Iran could limit the country’s cooperation with the Russian Federation regarding missiles or the defense industry. At the same time, Russia already has two factories producing "Shaheds" using Iranian technology. A likely negative consequence of the conflict in the Middle East is the rise in oil prices, which "will effectively fuel the Russian war machine."