Taiwan’s National Central Library and Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE) of Hungary concluded an agreement to expand collaboration on a union catalog for ancient Chinese books Oct. 18 in Budapest.
Signed by NCL Director-General Tseng Shu-hsien and ELTE Vice-Rector for International Affairs Imre Hamar, the pact will help the Hungarian institution greatly enhance its research resources on Taiwan affairs, Sinology and East Asian studies.
Tseng and Hamar also unveiled the Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies at the university, the 44th of its kind sponsored by the NCL at an overseas location.
According to the NCL, ELTE is the oldest and largest tertiary institution in Hungary, with its East Asian Institute providing important resources for research in related areas. This latest development is expected to inspire greater research interest in Taiwan and promote bilateral exchanges, the library added.
During her trip to other areas of Central and Eastern Europe earlier this month, Tseng additionally concluded two cooperation agreements on behalf of the NCL with counterparts in Lithuania and Estonia and gifted a Taiwan Corner featuring a wide variety of publications to the two institutions.
Equally important, Tseng witnessed the unveiling of four other Taiwan resource centers at the University of Tartu in Estonia, Vilnius University in Lithuania, Masaryk University in the Czech Republic and Comenius University in Slovakia, in that order.
All the universities also received replicated copies of the Annotated Poetry of Su Dongpo, one of the NCL’s greatest treasures, and the Diamond Sutra, the library added. (SFC-E)
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