Tainan City Government

I. New team members on board, working together to advance city development

1. Today is the first time that the new City Government team has been fully assembled to attend the Municipal Administrative Meeting after personnel rearrangements for various agency directors. I would like to take this opportunity to thank former Deputy Mayor Yen and other former agency directors and heads for their contributions toward city governance. The newly appointed staff, including Deputy Mayor Chang, Deputy Secretary-general Wu, Director-general Chen of the Public Health Bureau, Director-general Chuang of the Urban Development Bureau, Director-general Lin of the Transportation Bureau, and Director-general Wang of the Department of Legal Affairs, have served for many years in their respective offices and demonstrated extensive competence and experiences in the implementation of policies. I am confident that they will be able to settle into their new responsibilities seamlessly and with great ease.

2. The new City Government team is mostly composed of agency and department heads and directors and senior colleagues who have been promoted to their new postings. I would like to remind the team that there will be no honeymoon. Newly appointed agency directors and heads shall quickly familiarize themselves with the implementation of major City Government projects as well as the upcoming inquiry meetings scheduled in March and April. All agencies are required to be steadfast in their respective duties and demonstrate the highly efficient performance of the Tainan City Government.

3. Recently, our friends in the media, as well as senior party members, have been actively “advising me on my future career”. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards their concerns. In an interview during the Lunar New Year, I said that there are still two years left in my tenure as Mayor of Tainan City. Dedicated commitments are still required for many major city development projects, including underground conversions of the railroad system, Tainan Museum of Fine Arts, Tainan Public Library, and reconstruction of the Weiguan Building. I have no reason to leave my office without achieving major progress with these projects. I will like to take this opportunity to remind senior members of my party committed towards the public good in both the central and local governments that the people of Tainan will only vote for those they deem fit, and will be unlikely to give our party a second chance if city development projects falter. The period of 2 years before the next election will be a critical period where we must double our efforts. I will like to emphasize that any person contributing towards the betterment of Tainan is part of the Tainan Team. Elections must be set aside in order to prioritize our efforts towards city development to win the confidence and support of our fellow citizens in Tainan.

II. Determined commitment towards transparency regardless of city governance advancements in northern or southern Tainan

1. To build a joyful and livable city across every aspect, the Tainan City Government committed significant efforts towards water works, roads, transport, and other infrastructure after the merging of Tainan County and Tainan City to form the Tainan Special Municipality. Significant results have been achieved after years of hard work, including the residential area road development project for the 4 districts in the north of Zengwun River that was allocated a budget of over NT$ 3 billion and a road leveling project in the Greater Xinying region with a budget of NT$ 640 million. These projects are expected to improve 94.7 km of roads to provide fellow citizens a safe means of commuting. Planning has been initiated for the Xinying Bus Interchange, a facility crucial towards the development of the Greater Xinying Area that the locals have looked forward to for many years. The Public Works Bureau is placed in charge of building road connections while the Transportation Bureau is responsible for planning and constructing the bus interchange areas, rezoning and laying down roads for various residential areas. The three-in-one construction project will be instrumental in the development of the Greater Xinying Area. Other scheduled projects include improvements to the Yuejingang footpaths and plans for the 5 major cultural parks such as the Tsai-liao Fossil Museum at Zuozhen. These City Government development projects are implemented for regions both north and south of Zengwun River. The Tainan City Government treats the entire City as a holistic entity and aims for total transformation and pursuit of continuous improvements.

2. After the Lunar New Year, we shall survey various districts and report to our fellow citizens on the results of our efforts towards city development. I hereby ask all agencies and departments to constantly review and update the progress of their projects and schedule appropriate appointments to present and advocate the outcomes of the city administration’s efforts. This will provide fellow citizens with the latest information on major ongoing development projects in Tainan City, showcase the efficiency and performance of the City Government team, and present our confidence and determination towards the building of a transparent government.

III. Improving disease prevention measures against human and avian influenza

1. The first confirmed case of overseas infection of H7N9 influenza was identified in Taiwan in January 2017. The patient is still in critical conditions and is currently undergoing intensive care in a hospital in Kaohsiung. The 141 individuals who had come in contact with the said patient, including family members, flight crew, and medical personnel, have been listed for constant monitoring. A dead gosling with a highly pathogenic strain of H5N6 subtype avian flu was found in February 2017 at Yuli, Hualien County. This strain was 99% similar to the virus responsible for the H5N6 avian flu outbreaks in China, Japan, and Korea, indicating high risks of disease outbreak in Taiwan that cannot be ignored. In other words, an individual infected with the highly pathogenic H7N9 influenza has entered Taiwan during the Lunar New Year, while the zoonotic (can be transmitted to humans) H5N6 avian flu have been found in Taiwan as well. These are grave issues and fellow citizens must be ever more vigilant.

2. Most cases of H7N9 are contracted through the bird-to-human transmission. Since 2013, over 1,000 cases have been reported throughout the world with a mortality rate of about 30%. Major epidemic zones include coastal provinces in southeast China. Most cases tend to be individuals who have been exposed to live poultry or poultry markets. Risk levels are particularly high in Taiwan due to our close and frequent contact with China. The H5N6 avian flu has run rampant in China, Japan, and Korea. Hundreds of thousands of birds were culled in Japan and Korea while a mortality rate of nearly 70% has been reported for confirmed cases of bird-to-human transmissions in China. An epidemic outbreak will lead to severe losses and impacts.

3. I hereby ask the Agriculture Bureau and Public Health Bureau to monitor the disease closely and make early preparations for disease prevention using the following measures: raise tourism warning levels in Mainland China, collect additional information on the disease, increase the strictness of border inspections and quarantine, increase the vigilance in public health institutions and public health education, implement disease investigation and monitoring, and continue to improve the management of human-avian interfaces and open-air poultry farms and facilities to prevent contact with migratory birds. Taiwanese entrepreneurs and members of the public visiting epidemic areas should be wary with respect to personal hygiene and hand washing. Care should be taken to avoid coming in contact with poultry, birds, or markets selling live poultry. Poultry and eggs served in meals should be fully cooked. Those who experience flu symptoms should wear a face mask and seek medical attention as quickly as possible. We hope that the aforementioned measures will help prevent the disease from spreading to better protect the lives and properties of fellow citizens. The first step for preventing an outbreak is to improve open-air poultry farms and facilities. Our monetary resources should be directed towards disease prevention measures instead of compensating farmers for their losses when poultry culling becomes necessary. I hereby ask the Agriculture Bureau to take the initiative and handle this accordingly.

Reports

I. 2017 Tainan Arts Festival report presented by the Culture Affairs Bureau (Refer to the printed information for details)

Resolution: Approved for reference filing.

Mayor’s remarks:

(1) Since 2012, the Tainan Arts Festival has celebrated the 3 major themes of International Classics, Taiwan Glamour, and City Stage. In addition to showcasing historical monuments and fine cuisine of Tainan, the Festival also transformed performance arts into another renowned feature of Tainan City. The City Stage series was especially unique as it encouraged performance groups throughout the country to present their art at historical monuments, temples, and other unique areas, helping to create the urban atmosphere of ubiquitous art and solidify the reputation of the Tainan Arts Festival. I hereby thank Director-General Yeh for the report as well as the Culture Affairs Bureau for their hard work.

(2) The upcoming 2017 Tainan Arts Festival has been scheduled on March 4th. The two-month long event includes a lavish selection of over 100 art performances that include drama, dance, and music. In 2016, the Culture Affairs Bureau received critical acclaim with its first Street Party opening ceremony. For 2017, the Bureau specifically invited the Compagnie Transe Express from France to give an extravagant performance titled the Tambours & Giant Dolls. The City Stage series integrated temples, historical monuments, and even coastal beaches and other featured urban landscapes found only at Tainan to present a meticulously-planned 15-item program agenda that includes many exclusive performances. Taiwan Glamour series, on the other hand, includes works presented by a formidable cast of Taiwan's best performance groups. The Tainan City Government also successfully invited the international superstar Sarah Brightman to give a most anticipated performance at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium.

(3) According to the presentation, 45 professional teams and over 100 performances will be showcased in the Arts Festival of 2017 to offer great quantity and quality. One particular note is the increase in the number of performances developed locally through international collaboration. In addition to the world-famous Sarah Brightman, the internationally acclaimed pianist Đặng Thái Sơn from Vietnam will also be making his first visit to Taiwan and give a performance at Tainan. Other performances include shadow puppet shows from Canada, literary musicals from Japan, chamber music groups from Singapore, mini-Beijing opera from China, popular percussion duos from Europe, Taiwanese circus with multinational collaboration, and the first ever international exchange performance by the Tainan City Symphony Orchestra, a famous German composer, and Hungarian cellist. I hereby acknowledge the recent efforts of the Culture Affairs Bureau as well as the creativity and constant innovation that they have been demonstrating every year. All citizens are welcome to participate in this Festival.

(4) Additional improvements have been made to the planning and quality requirements of the 2017 Arts Festival program agenda when compared to previous years. I personally endorse these efforts. I also ask the Culture Affairs Bureau to pay attention to backup plans for outdoor performances in case it rains as well as details that include emergency and contingency handling, audience services, and marketing promotion. In addition to embellishing Taiwan’s historical capital with art, care must be taken to ensure that fellow citizens, as well as Taiwanese people, are provided with the best viewing experience. For coordinating tasks that require multiple agencies and departments, I hereby ask the Secretary-General to convene meetings to review these requirements. Various agencies and departments should also commit their support to ensure the highest levels of quality for the annual Tainan Arts Festival.

II. 2017 Taiwan International Orchids Show report presented by the Agriculture Bureau (Refer to the printed information for details)

Resolution: Approved for reference filing.

Mayor’s remarks:

(1) The 2017 Taiwan International Orchid Show (TIOS) has adopted the theme of Discover Sustainable Orchids. While being intimately linked with the 2 major elements of Tainan and Orchids, the theme also included the aspect of sustainability that is especially meaningful after the first anniversary of the February 6th Earthquake. The earthquake may have taken many lives that were dear to us, but the City has continued to give birth to new lives. We have worked together to rebuild our homeland, allowing everyone to witness the never-ending cycle of life, hope, and future expectations. In this year’s TIOS, we will showcase the resilience and aspirations of Tainan’s industries to buyers and friends from around the world.

(2) The 2017 International Orchid Symposium and Global Orchid Business Forum specifically selected the means of sustainable development of the orchid industry as well as pharmaceutical applications of orchids for their investigations. This will be the first time that the event organizer has attempted to expand upon other applications for orchids. Taiwan occupies a sizable market share in the global market for ornamental orchids. The Taiwan Orchid Plantation located in Tainan City is a key and major production site for orchids throughout Taiwan. As the rest of the world develops new avenues and value-added applications for orchids, Taiwan must continue to provide various supports for the orchid industry while maintaining our lead in the market for ornamental orchids to seize the initiative in the development of new businesses. We hope that the gathering of experts and academicians in the orchid industry for the discussion of medicinal applications of orchids will help introduce new mindsets and possibilities for Taiwan’s orchid industry and maintain our overall lead and advantage in the business.

(3) The NCKU Research & Development Foundation in charge of organizing the 2017 TIOS is working jointly with academic departments of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and the NCKU Orchid Research & Development Center to offer a plethora of resources from both the industry and the academia as well as extensive professional backgrounds. Free APP developed using the latest virtual reality (VR) technology will also be part of this TIOS, allowing users to personally experience the wonders of orchid breeding. Actual sites of the TIOS will also be furnished with large simulation facilities that can be accessed by the visitors. We hope that the 2017 TIOS will provide visitors with an all-new experience while conveying the ever-changing nature of the orchid industry and the positive imagery of constant innovation of local industries.

(4) The year 2017 marks the 13th session of the TIOS, but this is the first time that the TIOS has adopted a specific theme. Past sessions were exhibits that integrate the Lunar New Year zodiac animals with beautiful orchids. This TIOS will be making changes to this model and we look forward to its successful completion. Tainan welcomes everyone in the country to visit our city for their spring excursions and admire the most beautiful orchids around.