Taiwan Deputy Speaker Chiang Chi-chen hosts Italian counterpart to advance cultural exchanges.

Legislative Yuan Vice President Chiang Chi-chen formally hosted a banquet in Taipei today for a visiting delegation led by Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio. This diplomatic luncheon not only demonstrated Taiwan's traditional hospitality but also deepened parliamentary exchanges between Taiwan and Italy in a relaxed atmosphere. To allow the distinguished guests from afar to fully experience Taiwan's unique summer charm, Chiang specially prepared shaved ice—a traditional Taiwanese summer delicacy—during the banquet. This allowed the visitors to personally experience authentic Taiwanese summer dessert culture, adding a touch of warmth and cordial interaction to formal parliamentary diplomacy.

On substantive issues of exchange, Chiang expressed his sincere gratitude to Vice President Centinaio and his delegation. The Italian Senate formally passed the "Immunity from Seizure for Foreign Cultural Artifacts on Loan" bill this July, a significant legislative breakthrough that lays a solid legal foundation for future cultural cooperation between the two countries. Chiang pointed out that the passage of this bill is not only an affirmation of Taiwan's cultural and artistic standards, but also an important milestone in the substantive progress of Taiwan-Italy relations. He expressed his personal hope that, through the implementation of this bill, more diverse and in-depth cultural asset exchanges and reciprocal artifact exhibitions can be developed between Taiwan and Italy in the future.

International loans of cultural assets and artworks have always required strict legal protection as a backing, especially for artifacts of national historical value. In the past, many countries lacked relevant immunity-from-seizure legal protections, causing precious artifacts to frequently face the risks of ownership disputes or judicial seizure during cross-border loans, thus holding them back. The immunity from seizure bill passed by the Italian Senate this time equivalently provides a secure channel of cooperation for Taiwan's museums and art galleries. This means that in the future, Taiwan's precious historical artifacts will have the opportunity to be exhibited in Italy, and Italy's world-class artistic treasures can be more smoothly introduced to Taiwan, benefiting domestic art and culture enthusiasts.

In recent years, Taiwan's diplomatic breakthroughs in Europe have largely focused on economic and trade as well as democratic value alliances. This meeting between Legislative Yuan Vice President Chiang Chi-chen and Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio successfully expanded bilateral relations to a new level of cultural diplomacy. As the birthplace of the Renaissance, Italy possesses one of the richest cultural heritages in the world; meanwhile, Taiwan demonstrates a high degree of soft power in preserving and promoting Chinese culture and diverse local cultures. The interaction between the high-ranking parliamentary figures of both sides not only raised Taiwan's visibility in European parliamentary circles, but also demonstrated Taiwan's active efforts to build substantial and deepened partnerships with the international community through cultural soft power.

With the successful conclusion of this luncheon, reciprocal visits and exchanges at the parliamentary level between Taiwan and Italy have written a new chapter. Acting as the host, Chiang welcomed Vice President Centinaio, drawing the two sides closer together through the blending of food and culture, while paving the way for future artifact loans and cultural asset exchanges. Looking ahead, under the safeguard of the Italian parliament's new bill, cultural exchanges between Taiwan and Italy are bound to become more frequent. This will not only help broaden the international horizons of the domestic public, but also allow Taiwan to firmly establish a more influential position on the international cultural stage.