Culture Minister Shih Che landed in the Czech Republic on Sept. 12 where he is kicking off a tour of Europe and is expected to meet delegates in the Netherlands and France, where he will be hosting the French-Taiwanese Cultural Foundation Award ceremony.
Making his first stop at Telč, a town in southern Czech Republic and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, Minister Shih met Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, Governor Vítězslav Schrek of the Vysočina Region, and Mayor Vladimír Brtník of Telč, in companion with Representative to the Czech Republic Ke Liang-ruey (柯良叡).
Taiwan and the Czech Republic have consolidated bilateral ties, said Minister Shih, and by visiting the local historic sites and cultural landscapes this time, he expects to bring back experiences and new ideas of cultural preservation, reuse, and human-cultural asset coexistence, and introduce the beauty of the Central European country to Taiwan.
After sightseeing, Minister Shih left a message on the city hall’s guest book: "The beauty of Telč opens our eyes to the quality of diversity and democracy of the Czech Republic. Wishing Taiwan and the Czech Republic all the best and a prosperous future ahead."
Minister Shih also took a tour in Prague, where he visited the National Museum in companion with Deputy Minister Ondrěj Chrást of Culture and Director Michal Lukeš of the museum.
The National Taiwan Museum (NTM) and the National Palace Museum (NPM) in 2022 signed an agreement with the Czech Republic’s National Museum to become sister museums.
Director Lukeš also visited Taiwan earlier this year to sign an MoU for a special exhibition on Czech castles with NTM and invited NPM to showcase its collections in Prague.
Minister Shih's visit to the National Museum consolidates commitment to the bilateral cooperation between Taiwan and the Czech Republic and facilitates more cultural exchanges between the two nations.
Upon the meeting, Deputy Minister Chrást also announced the plan to conduct a one-month exchange on literature with NTM next year and to discover more opportunities of partnership between national museums in Taiwan and the Czech Republic.