Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) met State Secretary Stephan Steinlein of the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin on Tuesday in a meeting Lung’s ministry said represented a significant “milestone.”
The two officials exchanged views on such issues as bilateral cultural exchanges, human rights, transitional justice and Taiwan-China interaction, the Ministry of Culture said.
It was the highest-level meeting between officials from Taiwan and Germany in many years, making it “deeply meaningful,” the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan and Germany do not have formal diplomatic ties, making meetings between high-level government officials rare.
During their one-hour meeting, Lung called Taiwan the democracy “laboratory” of the Chinese-speaking world.
For the West to understand China, Taiwan serves as a major key, and to understand Taiwan, one has to start with its culture, she said.
Steinlein expressed interest in how people in Taiwan identify themselves and whether the student-led protests in March were related to the issue of identity, the ministry said.
Lung expressed a desire for closer contacts between the two nations in arts, literature and culture, while Steinlein said he was hoping to see more creative and sustained cultural exchanges develop.
The Federal Foreign Office maintains Germany’s relations with other countries.
The office promotes interaction with the world in several areas, including business, culture, science and technology and the environment.
Lung left Taiwan on June 5 on a 10-day trip to Switzerland and Germany, with the aim of deepening the cultural ties with the two European countries.
She arrived in Berlin on Sunday and is to stay there until tomorrow.
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