Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Wednesday night departed for the Czech Republic and several other countries in Europe, after making low-profile trips to Japan and the Philippines.
Lin made the Czech Republic his first stop in Europe as the two countries have developed close diplomatic and economic relations over the past few years, an exclusive report by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) showed.
Lin and Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) yesterday attended the opening ceremony of “One Hundred Selected Masterpieces of the National Palace Museum and Their Stories” at the National Museum in Prague.
Photo: Taipei Times
Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) also led a legislative delegation to the ceremony.
The exhibition is part of events under the “European Taiwan Cultural Year” that Lin and Li jointly promoted.
It is the first time that the National Palace Museum has exhibited its cultural artifacts — including the iconic Jadeite Cabbage With Insects (翠玉白菜) sculpture and Along the River During the Qingming Festival (清明上河圖), a handscroll painting — in the Czech Republic.
Photo courtesy of the National Palace Museum
The exhibition was made possible following amendments passed by Czech parliament.
Lin was reportedly scheduled to meet with Czech politicians, although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was assessing whether details of the meetings would be made public.
Lin’s trip to Europe was described as an exchange between the two countries in the fields of economy, trade, technology and culture at higher government levels, a source familiar with the matter said.
Photo courtesy of the National Palace Museum
Similar to his visits to Japan and the Philippines over the past few months, Lin did not disclose the itinerary of the European trip in advance and accepted all the arrangements made with the countries he had planned to visit to avoid interference from Beijing.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday criticized the National Palace Museum’s exhibition in Prague, saying that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government is using it to advocate Taiwanese independence and remove Chinese influence from Taiwan.
“Desinicization is never a problem in Taiwan, whether the country is governed by the DPP or the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT),” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “China launched the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s that was aimed at destroying Chinese culture, while Taiwan helped preserve the essential content of Chinese culture and customs.”
Photo courtesy of National Palace Museum
The Mazu Grand Ancestral Temple on Meizhou Island in China’s Fujian Province is a major pilgrimage site for devotees from across China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, he said.
The temple was nearly destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and would not have been rebuilt if it were not for generous donations from Taiwanese, he said.
The temple, now managed by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, charges visitors for entry, he added.
The National Palace Museum’s exhibition in Prague is a cultural exchange, as was the case when it organized exhibitions in France and other countries, Liang said.
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