Mayor’s remarks:
1. Tainan City’s first Level A Community Integrated Services Center officially opens in Eastern District
a. Taiwan has already become an aging society where the 65 and older elderly population is growing rapidly. So, we’ve wasted no time in founding a strong long-term care services system for our people that’s based on the principle of being “Compassionate, Distinctive, and Collaborative”. In addition to this, the Long-term Care Plan 2.0 is an important policy that was launched nationwide by the government on December 16 in order to help Taiwan be able to adapt to an aging society. Furthermore, starting next year, the government will transfer the Long-term Care Plan from Version 1.0 to Version 2.0. Through the three different levels of service centers, which are Level A Community Integrated Services Centers, Level B Community Combined Services Centers, and Level C Alley and Lane Long-term Care Services Stations, the public will be able to consider their own needs and then choose accordingly from the variety of services with their different levels.
b. Tainan City has the following facilities: one Level A, two Level B, six Level C, and 23 Daytime Care Centers that are located in 16 of the city’s districts and are officially open to the public. Furthermore, we’ve scheduled to have all long-term care institutions around the city display their certificates of conformance before December 31. Tainan City’s biggest advantage is that it boasts 23 Daytime Care Centers and 40 Daytime Elderly Care Groups in addition to having the nation’s most Community Care Locations, which there are 370 of them. Due to the united effort of public and private working together, Tainan City can be confident that it’ll become a model city for Long-term Care 2.0.
c. The central government-promoted Long-term Care 2.0 has the government policy goal of “able to use it, able to see it, and able to find it”. Tainan City itself has made three goals for turning the project into reality, which is establishing a long-term care system that’s “Compassionate, Distinctive, and Collaborative”. Tainan City estimates that by 2018 the city will have completed construction work on 37 Level A, 59 Level B, and 262 Level C services centers. By that time, the city’s 37 districts will have created a comprehensive care network so that the city’s elders will be able to feel at ease while they spend their twilight years in the area they’re familiar with. This will also make it less stressful for young people that need to take care of older family members. Overall, the above improvements will help make Tainan a city that truly is a great place to live.
2. Effort to prevent traffic congestion during three-day holiday starting on New Year’s Day (2017) should begin ahead of time
a. Next year’s (2017) New Year’s Day features an extended holiday lasting three days, meaning that there’ll definitely be much more people either heading back to their hometown or going on vacation. In order to cope with the heavy amount of vehicles that will be in Tainan City’s scenic areas and on the city’s main roads, the city government must give everything it has got to transportation planning and making sure roads aren’t experiencing traffic jams. By doing its best, the city government will lower how much this three-day period influences the lives of city residents and it’ll also make sure that the good times of tourists aren’t inhibited.
b. We’re anticipating that figures for tourists heading to downtown Tainan will increase significantly during the three-day holiday, making it very likely that Anping Business District, Haian Road, and Zhengxing Street Business District will experience traffic hold ups. Therefore, I ask the city government’s Transportation Bureau, Police Department, and other bureaus, departments, offices, and commissions that are involved in to do a good job of carrying out preparatory measures that’ll help the city cope with the heavy traffic. I would like us to give particular emphasis to increasing police visibility. I also request that volunteer traffic controllers aid in making sure roads are flowing so that bottlenecking won’t chip away at the enjoyment of our tourists. I now would like to encourage fellow government workers that are on duty during this extended holiday to pay close attention to their own safety in addition to performing their responsibilities. Only by having everybody give their all to fulfilling their duties will we be able to earn the approval of our city’s citizens.
Reports
1. Report by Tainan City Government’s Ethnic Affairs Commission: “Results and Outlook of Plans Promoted by Ethnic Affairs Commission” (please see written report for more information)
Resolution: Approved for reference filing
Mayor’s comments:
a. Ever since Tainan City and Tainan County merged, there have been seven administrative pillars for promoting ethnic affairs, which are “mainstreaming ethnic groups”, “creating a foundation for the languages of ethnic groups”, “fulfilling the Siraya’s name rectification movement”, “developing knowledge about the local area”, “creating new types of cultural events and platforms”, “fostering industries and the economy”, and “caring for aborigines”. Furthermore, the commission also has advocated policies that were the first of their kind in Taiwan, such as “holding workshops on mainstreaming ethnic groups”, “completing evidence-based policies for mainstreaming Tainan City’s ethnic groups”, “incorporating Siraya language courses into Tainan City’s formal education system”, and “establishing an eight-in-one counter for aborigines regaining their traditional names”. The policies promoted by the Ethnic Affairs Commission are helping thoroughly cultivate Tainan City so that it’ll march towards becoming a city that’s both international and full of culture, and this progress is an important step in developing the city’s soft power. The above development also shows that the city values both respecting diversity and equality for all ethnic groups.
b. I have repeatedly responded to the central government, telling them that we must stress the importance of name rectification for the Siraya people. We currently have the support of President Tsai Ing-wen, and the Executive Yuan, according to established procedures, has taken the initiative to write the Indigenous Peoples Status Act. Furthermore, the Executive Yuan added the Pingpu Aborigines Draft to the act. As for the Siraya aborigines, we expect that by next year they’ll be able to obtain indigenous status, which could prove helpful in protecting the rights of their tribe. Furthermore, we already have initial results for the Siraya language being incorporated into the native language education programs of 13 schools. I ask that the city’s Education Bureau continues to actively promote the Siraya language so that it’ll be effectively passed down to the next generation.
c. For the first time ever, Tainan City implemented a method of “crossing (the cultures)” of ethnic groups, including interaction, exchange, and dialogue between different groups. Integrating the music, food, and the cultural and creative industries of the Hakka people, Hoklo people, and aboriginal groups, this movement is being carried out in order to bring about interaction as well as cultural understanding amongst people with Hakka heritage, aboriginal heritage, and other ethnic groups as well. As a result, completely original and highly creative cultural phenomena will emerge from these groups. I would like to express my gratitude to Chairperson Wang and the team he leads for their hard work, and I ask that they continue to establish a platform that allows the public to experience the variety of cultures and art styles of different ethnic groups. By promoting multiculturalism in every corner of Tainan, the goal of “enriching the Greater Tainan Area with a diversity of ethnic group cultures” can be achieved.
d. I ask that Tainan City’s Secretary-General Li arrange for and then invite the Hakka Affairs Council’s Deputy Minister Mr. Yiong Cong-ziin to come to one of our municipal administrative meetings and deliver a speech. We also will invite this city’s two aboriginal councilors to attend the meeting.
e. I would like to give a special thank you to the city’s Social Affairs Bureau for providing funding for six caretakers, and I ask that the Ethnic Affairs Commission uses this money in an appropriate fashion. I also request that when these caretakers are visiting households that they don’t treat it like a routine job or simple questionnaires that just need to be filled out with information concerning the families’ lifestyles, as this is an opportunity to show care for our aboriginal friends that call this city home. If their education, job, or life, in general, has difficulties, we should combine the strength of every bureau, department, office, and commission in this city in order to give them the proper care that they need. I ask that the Ethnic Affairs Commission does everything it can to accomplish this effort.
2. Report by Tainan City’s Tourism Bureau: “2017 Tainan New Year’s Countdown Party” (please see written report for more information)
Resolution: Approved for reference filing
Mayor’s comments:
a. Tainan City Government started incorporating the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area and Siraya National Scenic Area (which are within the city’s jurisdiction) in 2012, and, since then, together we’ve created something that other cities’ New Year’s Eve celebrations simply don’t have—Taiwan’s only three-part New Year’s Countdown Party. The primary goal of this event is marketing Tainan.
b. This three-part event is both Tainan’s last big event of the year and the first big event of the new year. In the last five years, together we’ve created a brand name event that has been very well received by all walks of life. In addition to earning a good reputation, the New Year’s Countdown Party is also recognized as one of Tainan’s Annual Gold Medal Events. This year, Southwest Coast National Scenic Area will serve as the site for Farewell Sunset at North Gate, where the crowd will see the sun off and then welcome in the new year—the Year of the Rooster. Being emblematic of getting rid of the old and bringing in the new, the Erliao Sunrise event, just like it has the past couple years, will still feature a limited amount of tickets that are distributed on a first come first serve basis, which we do in order to ensure viewing quality for the audience. These tickets are gone in a flash every year, confirming just how popular this event is. Furthermore, last year set a new record for attendance, and the hiking event at Hutoubi Reservoir Scenic Area also lured in a large crowd of people who made health a part of the first day of the new year while they said good morning to us of the city government. The attendance figures prove just how much attention this three-part New Year’s Countdown Party gets. So, along with inviting the entire nation to attend our event, I’d also like to take this opportunity to now acknowledge our appreciation for this city’s residents, because they’ve worked very hard this year. I hope we can combine our emotions and passion together while working hard together to take on the future.
c. The biggest challenge of a large-scale event is controlling traffic, maintaining order, and making a safe environment. Our city government’s bureaus, departments, offices, and commissions are all working hard for Tainan New Year’s Eve. We may have many years of experience of hosting this event, but every year we still have a serious attitude to which we hold ourselves to the highest standards. Furthermore, we do our best completing preparation work before the event starts in addition to reviewing last year’s problems and shortcomings to see where we can improve. We also make sure to coordinate as well as we can with the bureaus, departments, offices, and commissions that are part of this event. Only by doing a flawless job of handling whatever challenges we’re faced with can we create a picture-perfect event, making sure that Tainan New Year’s Eve continues to enjoy a good reputation.