Taoyuan’s city diplomatic efforts have continued despite the global pandemic. Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan had a discussion with Mayor Thomas Richard Tate of Australia's Gold Coast City under the theme of “COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention—Talks Between Global City Leaders” on November 30. The two mayors exchanged ideas on issues of pandemic control, pandemic relief programs, and post-pandemic travel and tourism.
“Taoyuan, as home to an international airport, is dedicated to developing itself as a smart city, airport city, and sustainable city. With an average age of 39, Taoyuan is not only the youngest city among Taiwan’s six major municipalities, it is also the fastest growing city in Taiwan. The city’s industrial output of NT$3 trillion (about AUD 143.4 billion) is the highest in Taiwan. “said Mayor Cheng.
Gold Coast, as a famous tourism destination, is the second largest city in Queensland. “The two cities both have an international airport and focus on the development of education, medical research, high-precision manufacturing, and sports. That is why the two cities and their respective airports have many opportunities to learn from each other regarding urban planning and airport planning. “said Mayor Tate.
“When it comes to pandemic control, Taoyuan shoulders the burden of safeguarding Taiwan’s national border at the first line of defense,” said Mayor Cheng. “The city has adopted a preemptive measure to control the pandemic at its airport, hospitals, and communities and secured the production of anti-pandemic supplies. Also, the city’s prominent textile and healthcare industries have produced sufficient supplies for the city to make donations to other countries and cities in addition to meeting Taiwan’s domestic demands.”
“Keeping the pandemic under control would help keep the economy open. The pandemic has not taken a big toll on the city’s economy,” said Mayor Cheng. “Taiwan’s economic recovery plan has offered emergency loans and salary subsidies to enterprises and the Triple Stimulus Vouchers to its citizens. In line with the central government’s relief efforts, Taoyuan City also approved relief payouts, tax cuts, and various programs to promote consumption and tourism. In addition, the electronics industry has even seen a 30% growth amidst the global pandemic.” said Mayor Cheng.
“The Gold Coast is relatively successful in pandemic control,” said Mayor Tate. “It actually took a while for the city to get a hold of the pandemic. At first, the media criticized me for placing restrictions on outdoor gatherings, shutting the city border, and forbidding residents and vehicles of other states from entering the Gold Coast. However, the decision has helped keep the pandemic under control in the Gold Coast. Visitors to the Gold Coast will be asked to spend 14 days in quarantine at the city’s quarantine hotels before entering the city. As a result, the city has done better than Sydney and Melbourne in pandemic control.”
Mayor Cheng hopes that the two cities will enjoy more exchanges in tourism, culture, education, and sports in the future. “For example, an exchange program between the 16 universities and colleges in Taoyuan and those in the Gold Coast will help facilitate international exchanges,” said Mayor Cheng. “We also look forward to organizing a team from Taoyuan to participate in the Gold Coast Marathon in the future.” Mayor Tate also shared the same view with Mayor Cheng. “As the Gold Coast is devoted to building a smart city network, I hope that the two cities will have more collaborations in fields such as smart city, energy, and water resources.” said Mayor Tate.
On behalf of Mayor Cheng, Director-general Bruce Hung of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brisbane presented Taoyuan’s mascot “Tao & Yuango” and an aircraft model to Mayor Tate. As a return gift, Mayor Tate presented a boomerang, a traditional hunting tool used by indigenous tribes in Australia, to Mayor Cheng. Both mayors hope that the two cities will help facilitate tourism development in both Taiwan and Australia and engage in more bilateral exchanges after COVID-19 runs its course.
“The online series of Talks Between Global City Leaders will feature various city leaders, “said Yen Tzu-chieh, Director-general of the Secretariat. “After the first session with Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, we decided to invite the Gold Coast City, who is also an airport city, in the discussion of pandemic control and relief strategies. The two cities discussed future collaborations in the fields of airport city, smart city, and tourism. More bilateral exchanges are expected after the COVID-19 crisis.”