(CNA, Prague, 17th) Taiwanese author Szu-Hsien Chen, whose novel "Ghost Town" was recently translated into Czech, has been invited for a one-month writer's residency in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, to work on a new novel focusing on the theme of "death." During his stay, he visited the Brno Crematorium and a forensic identification center to gather inspiration and material for his writing. Since its publication in 2019, Chen's "Ghost Town" has been translated into multiple languages, including English, German, Korean, Japanese, and Ukrainian. This year, Czech publisher Větrné mlýny (Windmill Publishing) released the Czech version and invited Chen to Brno for a one-month residency. ● Taiwanese Local Traditions Spark Interest in European Readers In an interview with CNA, Chen said that during his residency, he toured various locations to promote the Czech version of "Ghost Town," including the Prague International Book Fair, the eastern Czech city of Ostrava, and the Slovak capital, Bratislava. He said he would ask audiences everywhere, "Am I the first Taiwanese person you've ever met?" and many would indeed nod. Chen noted that due to Taiwan's rising profile in the Czech Republic in recent years, locals are quite curious about Taiwan's politics, culture, and social issues. When he read a passage from his novel describing "striptease" at funerals in rural Changhua in the 1970s and '80s, it aroused strong interest among readers. "Even for many people who grew up in urban Taipei, it's hard to imagine that striptease appeared at funerals during that relatively conservative era in Taiwan," he said. ● Writing About Death in Brno, Deeply Experiencing Local Culture For the past month, Chen has been living a special residency life in Brno, deeply experiencing the customs and culture of the Moravian region. He said the most important task of his trip is to complete a new novel set in Brno, with a theme related to "death." Due to his deep interest in the