Taipei City Government

On March 5, Mayor Ko Wen-je visited Tugou Village in Tainan to learn about the City’s effort in community empowerment. It was the second day of his official visit to the southern municipality for experience sharing and exchange in city governance.
Stressing the importance of open-mindedness and inclusiveness, the mayor noted that the trip seeks to explore the different approaches a city government adopts to promote community empowerment. Thus, Tainan’s knowhow will serve as reference for Taipei when implementing policies in related areas.
Reflecting on the capital’s community empowerment strategies, Ko pointed out that his administration has shifted from a top-down approach to a more bottom-up model. Instead of imposing the government’s plans on commercial districts or night markets, the city government encourages local development organizations to take an active role in submitting proposals, so as to avoid opposition from locals when implementing community improvement projects.
During his visit to the Blueprint Cultural & Creative Park the previous day, Ko reckoned that Taipei-based businesses have been exploring Tainan’s cultural products of great commercial potential and introduced them to the capital market where international visitors contribute to a considerable proportion of the sales of such merchandise. He added that Taipei serves as a window to the world, citing the exhibition of an artwork at 2017 Taipei International Lantern Festival that was originally made in Tugou Agricultural Village Museum.
The mayor also visited the 2017 Taiwan International Orchids Show to learn about how Tainan drives forward the high economic value industry of orchid cultivation.