“Good Living”: New Taipei Mayor Chu invites visitors to Taiwan
“Good Living”: New Taipei Mayor Chu invites visitors to Taiwan
New Taipei City Mayor, Chu Liluan, accepted the Asia Pacific Taiwan Federation’s invitation and spoke on the topic of “Good Living” in the Taiwan-Hong Kong forum. Through his speech, the mayor introduced the Taiwanese lifestyle and some of the innovative policies New Taipei City Government has put in place to enhance said lifestyle. This speech also marked the end of the mayor’s tour around the Singapore and Hong Kong region. In comparing the differences between Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, the mayor thinks that the governments can do more to interact and share experiences with one another and to accentuate each location's uniqueness. He also invited Hong Kong citizens to go to Taiwan and tour around New Taipei City.
The speech took place in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre; the 500-seat auditorium was completely filled and many attendees were redirected to conference rooms, which the organizers opened up for live streaming in order to meet the seating needs of more than 1000 registrants.
In his speech, Mayor Chu stated that the number of tourists from Hong Kong to Taiwan was about 350,000 per-year a decade ago, and this number has grew past 1.25 million in the last year. Considering Hong Kong’s population of 7 million, the proportion of people who has visited Taiwan is very substantial. The tourism industries of the two locations have also seen more interaction; many Hong Kong specialty cafes have chose to open in New Taipei City and Taipei City. Mayor Chu invited the attendees to tour Taiwan and experience the local life.
Mayor Chu shared that Taiwan emphasizes a slower-paced, quality-living lifestyle. The greatest attraction that Taiwan has to offer is the people. The greater Taipei region has many smaller streets and roads where many of the Taiwan’s young working-class opened up specialty coffee shops and stores as an expression of themselves and their attitude towards life; due to their uniqueness, these shops have also become attractive tourist spots. Mayor Chu believes that Taiwan is a society of compassion, and the government is the bridge that takes community philanthropic organizations and companies with goodwill and build compassionate community services around them. As an example, the mayor described New Taipei City’s “Disadvantaged Youths Aid Stations,” where the city government worked together with over 2000 convenience stores to provide food (around NT$80) to children who cannot afford sustenance. In this program, the convenience store also becomes part of the support system for the community’s youth.
Mayor Chu further explained he feels Taiwan’s most important trait is that the country has no lack of compassionate people. In terms of volunteers, the number of volunteers in New Taipei City has grown to be over 110,000, and volunteers can be seen in all areas. New Taipei City has been promoting “Senior Volunteers,” using the concept of collaborative aids where the able-bodied seniors are “paying forth” by caring for other seniors; this program is an attempt at addressing the aging-society problem.
Taiwan’s sense of compassion is not just a display for tourism, but it is an important pillar in the foundation in Taiwan’s society. New Taipei City is promoting “Dining with seniors,” where seniors (whose children is occupied with work or do not live with them) gather and share meals together. It is an occasion for building new friendships through sharing food and experiences.
In addressing the difference between Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Mayor Chu said that both Hong Kong and Singapore are highly-developed international cities of commerce; Singapore’s strength comes from strong leadership from the government in leading development, and Hong Kong’s success is due to the government creating a good living environment and protecting order. The mayor said that there are differences between the locations in public participation and development, and each’s urbanization model also differ, but the governments need to continue to interact and to learn from each other. In terms of tourism, the mayor said that we all need to start by having good preparation; for example, governments need to build good lodgings and transportation services so that visitors will feel welcomed.
Lastly, Mayor Chu emphasized that Taiwan is a place of compassion and personality; Taiwan cares for the elderly, the working young, and the youths. He ended the speech by inviting the attendees to go to Taiwan and visit New Taipei City.