You Si-kun: We welcome our good friends from the Czech Republic with Yilan’s cuisine

Accompanied by Legislators Chen Ou-po and Chen Wan-hui; Legislative Yuan Secretary General Lin Jih-jia; Yilan County Magistrate Lin Zi-miao; Yilan County Council Speaker Zhang Sheng-de; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Roy Chun Lee; Republic of China (Taiwan) Representative to the Czech Republic Ke Liang-ruey; Representative of the Czech Economic and Cultural Office Taipei David Steinke; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director General of European Affairs Liu Tuo; and Chang Yi-fang of National Yilan Senior High School, Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun and Madame You hosted a luncheon in honor of Speaker Markéta Adamová on the afternoon of March 26. 

Before the luncheon started, President You extended a sincere welcome to Speaker Adamová and the Czech delegation to his hometown of Yilan. He said that it was a privilege to be there with them.

President You said that the National Center for Traditional Arts they had visited earlier both preserved and revitalized Taiwan’s traditional arts and culture. It had become a favorite destination of tourists from all over. President You shared his special affiliation with the center, having been instrumental in its creation when he had served, some three decades earlier, as Yilan county magistrate. He had later hosted the opening of the center when working as the nation’s premier. Today, the center is an important hub for Taiwan’s traditional performing arts and handcraft exhibitions, You concluded, saying how proud he was to have played a part in its establishment.      

President You then said he was also the founder as well as the former head of the Lan Yang Taiwanese Opera, which strove to perform only the best Taiwanese operas. He said he was excited that they had on hand talented, hard-working students from his alma mater National Yilan Senior High School to perform at the luncheon. The students had all prepared for today after school, and while they were not music students, their excellent performance had won for them many national awards, for which he expressed his admiration. 

President You said he believes Taiwanese cuisine is internationally renowned because of the nation’s 16 indigenous tribes. Taiwan was colonized by the Dutch, Spanish, Ming-dynasty’s Zheng Chenggong, Qing dynasty, Japanese, and Chiang Kai-shek. Such historical experience means Taiwan has a unique, diversified cuisine rare to be seen anywhere in the world. He said that it was only a shame that all the nation’s dishes could not be presented all at once. He had, therefore, selected some of the most popular dishes with ingredients from Yilan to share with his good friends from the Czech Republic and hoped they would enjoy the luncheon.   

In closing, President You toasted the distinguished guests as the luncheon concluded amidst beautiful music and a joyous atmosphere.