Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate led a five-person delegation to Tainan on September 3. The delegation from this Australian city, which is also one of Tainan’s sister cities, was welcomed by Mayor Li Men-yen, Tainan City Government Deputy Secretary-General Lee Hsien-wei, and Department of Information and International Relations Director Hsu Shu-fen. After visiting Mayor Li, the delegation took part in a green energy exchange meeting to have in-depth discussions with Tainan City officials on how green energy industries affect local economy and resident employment.
Mayor Li expressed that he is touched to hear the Gold Coast delegation chose to visit Tainan as the two cities are about to celebrate 36 years since the signing of Sister Cities Agreement. Li remarked that the two cities have long shared a precious and friendly relationship. Gold Coast’s economic developments and population have grown rapidly in recent years, and the city has become one of the world-leading cities in industries including tourism, culture & creative, fishery, IT infrastructure, and water sports. Mayor Li said that Gold Coast’s development experience is a good example for Tainan City to learn from, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to have discussions and exchanges with the delegation. He hoped to hear more comments from the visiting delegation during the meeting and looked forward to contributing to positive progress on both sides.
Mayor Li also gave a brief presentation on Tainan’s recent developments during the meeting. Tainan City government has been actively preserving historical buildings and promoting traditional crafts and skills in recent years, making Tainan City a preferred destination for domestic and foreign tourists. In terms of major industry developments, Tainan has seen significant growth in green energy, biotech, precision machinery, quality agriculture, and culture & creative industries; consequently, the central government decided to locate Shalun Green Energy Science City in Tainan, a decision that will make Tainan the leader in Taiwan’s green energy industry developments.
Mayor Tate expressed that he was very happy to visit Tainan again after his last visit six years ago. He remarked that Tainan and Gold Coast are very similar in that both cities are very vibrant. Both parties had many discussions related to smart city issues. Mayor Tate commented that city management teams should leverage technology to improve the living quality of residents. He also looks forward to more collaborations and exchanges in this field between the two cities in the future to improve city affairs. Finally, the Australian Mayor thanked the warm welcome from Mayor Li, and expressed that he would like to visit again every two years to have more frequent exchanges with Tainan on city development issues.
Gold Coast is located on the southeast coast of the Australian state of Queensland. The sixth largest city in Australia, Gold Coast is a world-famous tourist destination that welcomes tens of millions of visitors every year. Mayor Tom Tate visited Tainan in 2012 with an eighteen-people delegation composed of experts from various sectors (tourism, education, trade, real estate development, and immigration law) and the media to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the signing of Sister Cities Agreement between Tainan and Gold Coast. The two parties also signed a MOU during that visit. Tainan City and Gold Coast City became sister cities in 1982, and this year marks the 36th year of this relationship.