November 21, 2016
No.269
A five-member delegation led by Jan Bartošek, vice-chairperson of the Chamber of Deputies, Czech Republic, will visit the Republic of China (Taiwan) from November 21 to 25, 2016, at the invitation of the Legislative Yuan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The purpose of the visit is to promote parliamentary exchanges and provide the delegation with a better understanding of current developments in Taiwan with respect to politics, economics, culture and cross-strait relations, thus promoting more cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.
While in Taiwan, the delegation will have an audience with Vice President Chen Chien-jen and call on Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan, as well as attend a luncheon hosted by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chih-Chung Wu. The delegation will also call at the Ministry of Finance, the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau, as well as tour Kinmen, the National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei 101 and other sites of economic and cultural interest.
The Republic of China and the Czech Republic enjoy a close and friendly relationship founded upon the shared values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights, with cooperation and exchanges between the two countries in such areas as trade and investment, culture, education, and science and technology growing steadily over recent years. The Czech Republic is a key trading partner of Taiwan in Central Europe, and to date a number of Taiwanese ICT enterprises have invested a total of US$724 million in Czech-based manufacturing facilities. Both sides will continue to promote cooperation and exchanges in such areas as trade and economics, investment, culture, education, and science and technology.
Other delegation members from the Chamber of Deputies include Karel Schwarzenberg, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Marek Benda, chairman of the Czech-Taiwan Friendship Group; Martin Novotný and Josef Kott, members of the Czech-Taiwan Friendship Group. With the exception of Chairman Benda, this is the first time that the members of the delegation have visited Taiwan. (E)