The Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025 initiative has successfully showcased Taiwan’s freedom, openness and diversity through cultural events in Europe, a senior Taiwanese diplomat has said.
The initiative, launched this year by the Ministry of Culture and National Palace Museum, has held more than 70 art festivals, music fairs, and dancing and singing performances in 26 European countries, said Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of European Affairs.
Among the highlights of the months-long project were the palace museum’s “100 Treasures, 100 Stories: Treasures from the National Palace Museum” exhibition in the Czech Republic, marking the first overseas showing of its most iconic artifact, the Jadeite Cabbage, since 2014.
Photo: CNA
The museum, known for its collection that offers a comprehensive record of Chinese history spanning thousands of years, held a separate exhibition in Paris last month, exploring the cultural and historical significance of dragons across Asia.
“The goal of the year-round campaign is to link Taiwan and Europe further via culture and art,” Huang said on Tuesday last week, adding that culture is “a shared language that transcends borders.”
“The essence of Taiwanese culture is its openness, diversity, depth, and vitality,” he said.
Only by embracing democracy, freedom, and human rights has Taiwan been able to give birth to such a creative and diversified culture, he added.
An exemplar of Taiwan’s cultural fusion is artist Xie Sheng-min (謝省民), who the foreign ministry invited to stage a woodblock printmaking exhibition in the country’s only diplomatic ally in Europe, the Holy See, in September.
Raised in a Catholic family, Xie grew up near the famous Chaotian Temple, dedicated to the Taoist goddess Matsu, in Yunlin County’s Beigang Township (北港).
His works are a combination of Taiwanese religious beliefs and Catholicism, exemplifying the spirit of peace and freedom, Huang said.
Another example is the
U-Theatre performing arts group, whose shows are known for their combination of theater arts and drumming, with a dash of traditional Japanese culture, according to Huang.
Under the foreign ministry campaign, the troupe performed in Italy in September.
Huang said this cultural diplomacy not only brought Taiwan and Europe closer, but helped pave the way for Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) to visit several European countries, including the Czech Republic, Italy and Austria.
Taiwan’s foreign ministers rarely make public visits to countries that do not have official diplomatic ties with the nation.
Looking ahead, Huang said that one of the highlights for next year’s program would be an exchange between Taiwanese hand puppet groups and their European counterparts.
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