Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, on the morning of July 14, led the municipal delegation and representatives of Taoyuan International Airport, China Airlines, and EVA Air to visit the Boeing Company. Mayor Cheng expresses gratitude toward the vice presidents of the company and his team for their guide, and stated that although Taiwan is small in area and its population is only 23 million, the passenger traffic of Taoyuan International Airport is close to 50 million passengers, in which China Airlines and EVA Air account for over half of the traffic, and the Boeing Company is a partner to both airlines.
During the visit, Mayor Cheng also invited the Boeing Company to invest Taoyuan. He said that the industry zone of the Aerotropolis project is a good option and the city government has also established one-stop service for businesses to invest Taoyuan. Vice President Bill McSherry of State and Local Government Affairs, Vice President Randy Tinseth of Marketing, Commerce Director Lisa Brown of the Washington State, Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle, Senator David Frockt of the Washington State, Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Mayor Cassie Franklin of Everett, CEO of Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Marilyn Strickland, and CEO of Greater Seattle Partners Brian McGowan participated the event.
Later during an interview at Seattle Airport, the Mayor said that in order to expand economic benefits brought by Taoyuan Airport, Taoyuan will focus on promoting the “airport economics” to stimulate the development of an international airport and an airport city in tourism, commerce, logistics, and industry development. In the future, he hopes to have more exchange with Seattle Airport so that the development of the airport and Taoyuan city will be more closely-connected and more economically beneficial. Mayor Cheng also visited the Uber Engineering Office in Seattle and experienced JUMP Bikes, an electronic bicycle sharing system currently piloting in Seattle. JUMP Bikes are convenient and comfortable and may serve as a reference for future planning of industry development and city transportation.
Mayor Cheng pointed out that Taoyuan is the most important industry production hub in Taiwan. The high-tech industry in Taoyuan has close cooperation with smart cities such as Seattle and Silicon Valley. He hopes that in the future, there can be more opportunities of cooperation and closer exchange in industry development and city exchange.