Taiwan-- an island nation, that has been facing threats from China regularly-- has opened the first Hindu temple in the country, thus exhibiting an example of the country's strong cultural ties with New Delhi. The temple named "Sabka Mandir" was reportedly built with the help of an Indian immigrant Andy Singh Arya who also owns a famous restaurant in Taiepi.
Taking to a social media site, he expressed pleasure as his efforts shaped the temple that he claimed to envisioned around 23 years ago.
"23 years ago, I was looking for a Hindu temple in Taiwan when I was alone and on dark nights with no hope. I didn’t know Bhagwan would choose me to be a sevak of the first Indian temple in Taiwan ( Sabka Mandir). 2023 is a remarkable year for the first Indian temple in Taiwan. Sevak Andy just brought the stares but the wall is a community that supported this to happen," he wrote on Facebook with a number of photos and videos where people from the Indian community could be seen taking a tour of the newly opened temple.
It is worth mentioning both sides continue to lack formal diplomatic relations but the two governments maintain unofficial ties with each other. In 1995, the two countries established representative offices in each other’s capitals, namely the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India (TECC) for ROC (Taiwan) in New Delhi and the India-Taipei Association (ITA) for India in Taipei.
Since then, cultural exchanges between Taiwan and India have increased significantly in recent years. In addition to the Taiwan films being screened annually in major film festivals of India, performing art groups from Taiwan have also been welcomed by Indian audiences.
Recently, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu expressed willingness to expand ties with India and underscored that the proposed free trade agreement between the two sides would be a "big encouragement" for Taiwanese companies to set up manufacturing bases in India.
Taiwan wants free trade with India
The Taiwanese foreign minister said Taipei has conveyed to New Delhi that the time has come for launching the FTA negotiations. The two sides have already conducted studies for the FTA and held preliminary discussions for the pact. The FTA will be a "big encouragement" for our companies to set up manufacturing bases in India as the trade pact would provide relief on tariffs on various aspects including on bringing various equipment and related materials to the country, Wu said. "Our trade relations have been picking up steam.
The Taiwanese investors are hungry for India and the semiconductor cooperation between Taiwan and India is being blessed by the top leadership of the two countries," he said.
