Speaker invited to National Palace Museum exhibition opening in Prague

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and his deputy Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) have been invited to the September opening ceremony of a National Palace Museum touring exhibition in Prague.

In a statement released by Chiang's office on Tuesday, the Taiwanese deputy legislative speaker said that when a delegation led by him met with the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic Věra Kovářová in Prague, the Czech parliamentarian extended an invitation to Han and Chiang.

The upcoming visit is expected to turn a new page for the bilateral tie between Taiwan and Czech, according to Chiang, who is leading a legislative delegation on a 13-day trip to Europe.

The delegation, which left Taiwan Saturday night, will also visit Spain and Italy.

The exhibition -- 100 Objects, 100 Stories: Treasures from the National Palace Museum -- will feature a diverse collection of Chinese historical relics such as bronzes, calligraphy, paintings, jade artwork, ceramics, books, historical documents, clothing and decorative items.

Chiang said his meeting with Kovářová marked the first exchange between deputy legislative speakers since Taiwan's Legislative Yuan and the Czech Chamber of Deputies signed a parliamentary friendship and cooperation agreement last year.

Chiang said his visit signaled the solid rock friendship between the two countries' parliaments, adding Taiwan and Czech have shared universal values in democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law.

According to Chiang, lawmakers in Czech passed a resolution in June 2023 to support Taiwan's participation in international organizations, reject any unilateral change in status quo across the Taiwan Strait and condemn any military threats from China.

This has shown the European country's adamant support to Taiwan to further strengthen the bilateral partnership in democratic development, Chiang said.

Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, Taiwan and Czech should stand firm to safeguard democracy and freedom in a bid to allow people to live in peace and enjoy their work, Chiang said.

The Czech Republic is one of the most important friends of Taiwan, Chiang said, and both sides are not only partners of democracy but also work closely in a wide range of areas such as education, culture, technology and economic affairs.

For example, Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) provides subsidies to Czech researchers under a research exchange plan every year, while the NSTC has set up an IC design center in Czech to boost tech cooperation, Chiang said.

Based on the existing foundation, Chiang said he hoped Taiwan and Czech to boost trade and investments, urging Prague to include Taipei as one of the non-EU countries to access its labor market without work permits or employment cards, which started this month.

Chiang's delegation is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Aug. 1.