Taiwan sets up Chinese Studies center in Estonia

Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) The National Central Library (NCL) has set up its 47th Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies in Estonia's Tallinn University, according to a statement released by the library on Friday.

The NCL said that it held a signing ceremony with Tallinn University on Thursday, during which replicas of two ancient rare books, "The Annotated Poetry of Su Dongpo" and "The Diamond Sutra," were presented to the Estonians.

At the ceremony, NCL Director General Tseng Shu-hsien (曾淑賢) said her library has been focusing on promoting international academic exchanges by setting up resource centers specializing in Chinese studies in different countries since 2012.

The program also aimed to deepen and widen the cultural exchange between East and West, Tseng said, adding that the academic establishments are part of Taiwan's contribution to the international community.

Meanwhile, praising the Baltic country for its achievements in the development of digital technology, promotion of digital public service, and raising digital civic participation, Tseng also touted Estonia as one of the first countries to donate vaccines to Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting up the resource center for Chinese studies in Tallinn University this year will be beneficial to both sides, Tseng added.

The NCL will first provide a batch of 821 academic books on literature, history, philosophy, religion, and art, and will also send digital resources, including digital books, to Tallinn University, according to the statement.

Established in 2005, Tallinn University is located in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, and is an important educational institution in Northern Europe for Chinese studies.

Scholars with the university including Margus Ott and Jekaterina Koort have visited Taiwan and conducted classical Chinese studies in the NCL, the statement said.