Pingtung is playing host to a five-day festival celebrating the Czech Republic. From Dec. 1 to 5, there are music concerts, movie screenings, and other cultural events that give locals a chance to experience Czech culture. The event is organized by the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei in collaboration with the Pingtung County government.
Indigenous residents of Pingtung perform to welcome their visitors. County commissioner Pan Men-an joins in the dancing together with representatives from the Czech Republic''s representative office in Taiwan.
The 2021 Czech in Pingtung festival held its opening gala at the Pingtung Civic Park. The county government had a warm welcome for its Czech guests, hosting them at the finest location in town. The commissioner thanked the Czech Republic for reaching out to help Taiwan during the pandemic, with a donation of 30,000 vaccine doses.
Pan Men-an
Pingtung commissioner
Even during the pandemic, the relationship between the two countries was not interrupted. At a tense moment in Taiwan''s campaign against COVID, the Czech Republic donated 30,000 vaccine doses. The Czech Republic''s culture, arts, architecture, and film industry are all very well developed. It is a great partner for us to learn from.
Patrick Rumlar
Czech representative to Taiwan
We would like to first take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the hospitality, to the Pingtung County, and for them to provide us with such a great place for today''s reception.
To attend the event, Czech tourism representative to Japan, Stepan Pavlik, made the special trip to Taiwan. After completing quarantine, he traveled to Pingtung to attend the gala and promote tourism to the Czech Republic.
Stepan Pavlik
Czech tourism representative in Japan
Taiwan is an important market for us. It is the No. 3 market in all of Asia. Before the pandemic, there were more than 200,000 Taiwanese visitors to the Czech Republic annually.
During the five-day event, there will be an exhibit on Czech literature at the Pingtung County Cultural Affairs Bureau Library. Over the weekend, the library will offer outdoor screenings of the award-winning Czech film "Charlatan." The festival hopes to give a glimpse of the Czech Republic to locals who can''t travel abroad.