President Chen said that this is the third visit to Taiwan by Parliament Second President Spindelegger, as he previously traveled to Taiwan in 2001 and 2005. President Chen, on behalf of the 23 million residents of Taiwan, expressed his appreciation to him for his long support and friendship to Taiwan. In addition, President Chen noted that Taiwan and Austria maintain excellent cooperation and exchanges on the cultural front, while progress is also being made in the area of trade. Last year bilateral trade between the two nations grew over 30% from the previous year.
President Chen said that among the guests in Taiwan to participate in the ceremonies are directors of renowned museums in Austria and France, adding that he supports exchanges between Taiwan museums and their international counterparts. He said he is glad to see exchanges between the National Palace Museum and Austria's Kunsthistorisches Museum, with the latter to hold an exhibition at the National Palace Museum in October. Meanwhile, the National Palace Museum, the National Taiwan Museum and the National Museum of Prehistory will hold exhibits at the Museum fuer Voelkerkunde, part of the Kunsthistoriches Museum, in February next year. President Chen also said that the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, which was established last year under the promotion of France's President Jacques Chirac and collects primitive art from throughout the world, has established a collection of relief stone sculptured slab columns of Taiwan's Paiwan indigenous tribe.
President Chen furthermore said that the National Palace Museum is presently in the process of constructing a branch in southern Taiwan. He expressed his thanks to France's Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient for its assistance in the planning. He also said he hopes that France's Guimet Museum, which focuses on collecting art from East Asian countries, will also provide the National Palace Museum assistance in establishing its southern branch.
Accompanying the guests to the Presidential Building to meet President Chen were National Palace Museum Director Lin Man-li and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Chang Siao-yue. Also in attendance was Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Liu Shyh-fang.