A Taiwanese breeze blows through Vienna! Liu Suan-Yung and Chang Lily showcase their soft power on the international stage

Liu Suan-Yung and Chang Lily joined hands in Vienna to build Taiwan's international trust through cultural diplomacy. (Photo provided by the company)

The Taipei Chinese Orchestra performed at the Vienna Musikverein, captivating the heart of Europe with Taiwanese music. (Photo provided by the organizer)

Culture and architecture are irreplaceable elements of a city's vocabulary. In celebration of the 2026 "Taiwan Cultural Year in Europe," Ambassador Liu Suan-Yung of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Austria, in order to deepen cultural diplomacy, hosted the first "Taiwan Day" event in Vienna, combining a human rights film festival with musical performances to showcase Taiwan's diverse facets and human rights values.

The Taipei Chinese Orchestra's "2026 European Tour (Europatournee 2026)" concluded in Vienna. In the prestigious Golden Hall, the melodious sounds of the erhu and pipa filled the air, a rare sight indeed. Conducted by orchestra director Cheng Li-pin, the orchestra members interpreted the essence of Eastern culture through Taiwanese music. East and West intertwined, the brilliant Chinese music and Western classical architecture creating a captivating fusion that enchanted the European audience. Austrian Member of Parliament Dominik Oberhofer, invited to the performance, exclaimed with surprise and delight, finding the music from Taiwan a refreshing change in the Golden Hall, a venue usually reserved for Western classical repertoire. Japanese Minister Nobuyuki Kikuchi also praised the cello interpretation.

Zhang Chunjuan, president of the Vienna branch of the World Association of Chinese Business Women in Business Administration, said happily: "To be able to hear the notes belonging to our hometown in Taiwan in the Golden Hall, the highest palace of Western classical music, is truly indescribable. What makes us even more proud is that many local Austrian music fans and foreign friends at the scene were amazed by the superb performance of Taiwanese traditional music and cheered frequently. Applause. This is not only a concert, but also allows us overseas Chinese to see Taiwan's strong cultural cohesion." Liu Xuanyong, the representative of the Chinese Representative Office in Austria who shocked the diplomatic circle in Vienna with his musical literacy, has deeply realized that Taiwan and Austria have highly complementary cooperation opportunities in top basic industries such as steel, medicine and semiconductors since he took office.

As Taiwan's high-tech prowess leads the world, TSMC, in line with its international strategic layout at its Dresden plant in Germany, is actively recruiting outstanding R&D talent from the Technical Universities of Vienna and Prague. This forward-thinking talent exchange not only demonstrates the efficiency and pragmatism of Taiwan's industry but also sparks new ideas with Austria's refined and profound cultural heritage.

In the future, our country will continue to use its powerful "soft power" such as music, culture and art, and top-notch organic agriculture to deepen bilateral trust, and closely connect with Austria's mature financial channels. With Austria as the core hub, we will jointly lead Taiwanese enterprises to create a new pattern of overall diplomacy, jointly lay out the prosperous market of 100 million people in Central and Eastern Europe, and realize the sustainable vision of mutual benefit and common prosperity. In addition to the music feast, the representative office in Austria has also extended its artistic reach to human rights films, organizing the "Taiwan Human Rights Film Festival" and screening "Da Meng" and other iconic films that highlight Taiwan's democratic development and local human rights concerns. The representative office also prepared fried rice noodles, braised eggs, braised pork, meat soup and other Taiwanese specialty snacks. The scene was crowded, and it was necessary to use soft power to make friends.

The Taiwanese government's dispatch of an ambassador—who is also the director of the National Symphony Orchestra and a graduate of the Vienna Conservatory—to assume his post has garnered considerable positive attention within Vienna's diplomatic circles. Taiwan Day has received international attention, and Ambassador Liu Suan-Yung stated, "Through these unofficial activities, the vitality of the Taiwanese people has been showcased." During the encore of the concert, Ambassador Liu Hsuan-yung conducted the familiar Taiwanese folk song "Looking Forward to Spring." The ambassador explained, "This piece was composed in 1933 and is a highly representative Taiwanese folk song, but the deeper meaning behind the selection lies in his personal state of mind and represents the transformation of the island of Taiwan."

He said, "Taiwan's tragic era is over. We no longer need to resort to tragedy. We should have the confidence to step onto the world stage." Drawing on his own musical knowledge, Liu Xuan-yong successfully shone through cultural diplomacy in Vienna, a major cultural center in Europe. The musical art, humanistic design, and lifestyle aesthetics accumulated over the years are gradually forming a "Taiwan model" that can be exported, showcasing Taiwan's key soft power on the international stage.

Also in Vienna, Chang Lily, President of Treasure Dragon Construction, who is about to become the world president of the Federation of Real Estate Institutes of the World (FIABCI), pointed out that culture and urban development are inseparable. She particularly emphasized that urban landscapes and building skylines can often concretely reflect the cultural connotation of a city, and aptly compared it to this: "Architecture is flowing music, while music is frozen architecture; the curves of architectural design are just like a beautiful movement of music flowing in the city."

Chang Lily believes that Taiwan, as a society where diverse cultures blend, has shaped a cultural landscape that combines historical depth with modern vitality. When a city or country can be seen by the world through its culture, music, and lifestyle aesthetics, it represents an overall improvement in national brand and international trust, which will have a significant positive impact on future international investment, real estate development, and urban competitiveness.

Liu Suan-Yung and Chang Lily, two representative figures, will shine in Vienna, a highly culturally rich city, in 2026, respectively, in the fields of cultural diplomacy and international industry, demonstrating Taiwan's key strength in rising to the international stage. In the future, Chang Lily will leverage the FIABCI international platform to extend cross-border cultural exchange to global industrial cooperation, enabling more ideals to be realized.

Ambassador Liu Suan-Yung to Austria believes that through the two-way exchange of music and film, the world can hear and see Taiwan in Vienna.

Taiwan Day features a special human rights film screening, using cultural exchange to convey the ideals of democracy, freedom, and human rights, showcasing Taiwan's soft power to the world. (Image provided by the organizer. )

Through cultural exchange, the film blends tradition and contemporary creativity, showcasing a rich, diverse, and vibrant Taiwan. (Image provided by the organizer.)