Taipei City Government

While attending the 2020 Taipei Rose Festival on the morning of March 25, Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-Je announced Taipei City’s additional short-term relief measures that include tax deferral, rent reduction, price reduction, preferential interest rate, subsidy, and tax reduction. In conjunction with the central government’s medium-term relief program, the measures will help Taipei City businesses to get through the outbreak and prevent a wave of unemployment caused by businesses shutting down.

Before the media interview, Ko first gave a brief speech on the official opening of the rose festival. He said that this year’s 2020 Taipei Rose Festival lasts 37 days, showcasing the rose collection cultivated by renowned British rose breeder David Austin. According to the mayor, the city government has strived to transform Xinsheng Park into a 9,000m2-plus rose garden, allowing citizens to appreciate the beauty of roses all year round. In the future, flower stands and archways will be created in the park along with facilities such as an activity square.

Ko also thanked the city government colleagues for cultivating premium quality roses and other flowers such as tulips, so that the city government can host a variety of flower shows within the Taipei Flower Series program, allowing citizens to admire flowers in every corner of Taipei City throughout the year.

Mayor Ko mentioned that the 1,800m2 Cultivars Area behind the rose garden is home to numerous species of rose from Europe, America, and Taiwan. Taipei Rose Garden was opened during the Taipei International Flora Exposition, and now it is entering its 9th year in operation. Also, the city government developed the Tea Rose and Old Garden Rose Area in 2017, which has been expanded to 2,400m2.

The mayor emphasized that since this year’s exhibition coincides with the outbreak, the city government has canceled all food and beverage stalls, retaining only cultural & creative product and processed agricultural product stalls for the sake of people’s safety. The exhibition is held outdoors, so he once again urged citizens to wash their hands frequently and wear surgical masks as precaution. Meanwhile, the city government has also prepared soaps and rubbing alcohol to endow visitors at the rose festival with peace of mind.