SU, Hungarian Trade Office Sign Pact, Discuss Cultural Preservation in Forum

Soochow University signed an agreement with Hungarian Trade Office Taipei at Puren Hall on April 30^th, 2022, aiming to provide students with opportunities for a deeper learning about Hungarian culture and language.

Expecting to promote the communication and increase understanding between Taiwan and Hungary through offering courses, the Office’s Representative Dániel Lőrincz mentioned that lots of well-known Taiwanese enterprises set up factories in Hungary, such as Foxconn, Giant, and Micro-Star International Co., showing the frequent economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lőrincz, the Office’s Deputy Representative Lili Siklós, several top officials from the economic and cultural offices of other European countries including Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland, along with some scholars, discussed cultural conservation in Central and Eastern Europe with Soochow teachers and students in an “International Forum of Cultural Preservation and Revitalization.”

Martin Podstavek, Representative of Slovak Economic and Cultural Office, Taipei, indicated the unique culture and historical heritage were the vital part of national identity and economic development in Slovakia.

Adam Horálek, Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology Department in University of Pardubice, analyzed from the angle of sociology the reason why the government of Czech Republic spent considerable funding every year on conserving the cultural heritage, which only few of those were used for tourism. However, he also claimed that the heritage is not merely crucial asset for education but also indispensable symbol for constructing ethnic memory.

On May 9^th to 20^th, Tomáš Řízek, a famous Czech artist, presented a solo exhibition, including his new work “The Little Yellow Umbrella” and “A Bouquet of Folk Legends,” at the first floor of Second Academic Building in Soochow University. He had composed up to 70 illustrations, including the famous “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” and “Grimms’ Fairy Tales,” and set up a publishing company, making a great contribution in children’s picture books and translation literature between Czechia and Taiwan.