2022 "Meet Our Friendship Cities in Taoyuan" Exhibition: City of Brno, South Moravian Region, Czech Republic

Over the past seven years, Taoyuan City has continued to strengthen its international exchanges, raise its international visibility, and gradually enhance the international perspective of the public and private sectors to create business opportunities. To date, it has forged alliances with 33 cities around the world, laying a solid foundation for city diplomacy. In addition to sharing governance expertise, it also maintains ties through various exchange activities.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, international cities have only been able to communicate with each other online through video conferencing. The "Meet Our Friendship Cities in Taoyuan" Exhibition had participation from 14 sister cities and friendly cities from five countries in Asia, the Americas and Europe. Commemorative gifts and wonderful products from various countries were on display, enabling visitors to the Taoyuan exhibition to enjoy a taste of cities overseas and feel the glow of warmth and friendship from afar.

Brno is located in southeastern Czech Republic and is the country’s second largest city. It was the capital of Moravia from 1641 and later became the capital of South Moravia. As Czech Republic’s most important industrial city and railway hub, Brno also has many precious historical buildings. Biologist Gregor Mendel and Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, are well-known figures from Brno.

On November 13, 2022, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan and Brno City Mayor Markéta Vaňková of the Czech Republic held an online videoconference on issues such as the pandemic and education, discussing the two cities' anti-COVID-19 measures, post-pandemic revitalization plans, and future exchange projects.

In closing, Mayor Cheng wrote, “Taiwan Can Help. Taoyuan supports you,” saying that Taiwan can contribute to the world and that Taoyuan supports all its sister cities. Mayor Vaňková wrote in Czech, “We will work together to overcome all obstacles.” Both sides look forward to further exchanges once the pandemic eases and moving towards a sister-city relationship.

The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul is the most magnificent building in South Moravia, one of Brno’s main landmarks, and a Czech Republic cultural monument. The interior is mostly Baroque in style, while the impressive exterior and two 84-metre-high belltowers are neo-Gothic.

The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul is a sacred site in South Moravia and appears on the Czech 10 koruna coin. The church bells traditionally ring at 11 am every day rather than noon. Legend has it that when the Swedish army attacked the Brno region in 1645, the Swedish general swore to withdraw his troops if they did not capture Brno by noon. Some clever citizens rang the bells an hour early, and the general kept his promise and withdrew. To this day, the bells are rung 12 times at 11 am every day.

The mascot of the city of Brno is a crocodile. Long ago, the people of Brno mistook a crocodile for a dragon. Finding a crocodile that had strayed into Brno, they stuffed and mounted it as a symbol of victory and the eradication of harm against the city. This crocodile puppet is double-sided: turn it inside-out and it becomes a dragon.

At 11 o'clock every day, a glass marble is released from one of four openings in the Brno Astronomical Clock. Spectators can catch the marble as it comes out and take it home as a souvenir. This paperweight is made in the shape of a glass marble.

The statue of Courage in Moravian Square is the most famous sculpture in Brno. Completed in 2015, the 8-meter-high bronze statue depicts a knight on an impressively long-legged horse.

South Moravia is a region in the southwest of Moravia in the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Brno. Traditional patterns and indigo dyeing are a part of South Moravian culture and are still widely found on clothing, tableware, and accessories.

All the gifts in the photograph are decorated with the traditional patterns of South Moravia. The two indigo-dyed steel bracelets in the lower right-hand corner are old-style local children’s toys.

The game cards are printed with traditional indigo-dye patterns. The cards ask questions about South Moravian traditions, with answers on the reverse.

These traditional patterned coasters depict girls in traditional clothes (top left), children of the Virgin Mary taking part in the parade (top center), girls wearing colorful decorations (top right), and a Christmas pine cone (bottom).