Taiwan and Naples University Sign Chinese Studies Partnership

Taiwan has added a third Italian university to its network for promoting Chinese studies, signing a new agreement with the University of Naples “L’Orientale.”

National Central Library Acting Director-General Weng Chih-tsung and university rector Roberto Tottoli signed the agreement on Friday at Palazzo Corigliano’s Cabinet of Mirrors in Naples. The partnership follows agreements with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Sapienza University of Rome in 2018.

Weng described Italian Sinology as internationally respected and said the three universities are regarded as Italy’s leading institutions for Chinese studies. He said the Naples agreement resulted from eight years of efforts and made the university the library’s 58th partner worldwide.

The library provided 248 books on Chinese and Taiwan studies and plans to add more each year. It will also supply digital collections and electronic databases. The library presented facsimile editions of the Diamond Sutra, described as the earliest surviving two-color printed Buddhist scripture, and the Annotated Poems of Su Dongpo, a Song Dynasty edition designated a national treasure. The gifts, the library said, represent a shared commitment to preserving knowledge and promoting cultural exchange.

Separately, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education said it had signed an agreement with Kyoto University under the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative. Beginning next year, the university will offer four places for Taiwanese young people to undertake short-term research and training alongside researchers and graduate students. The program aims to build independent research and international collaboration skills while deepening Taiwan-Japan cooperation in higher education and advanced research.

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We hope the new Italian partnership would raise the visibility of Taiwan’s academic resources in Europe