President Tsai accompanies Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes on tour in Kaohsiung
On July 13, President Tsai Ing-wen accompanied Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and his delegation to Taiwan's southern city of Kaohsiung, where they toured the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center and enjoyed a panoramic view of Kaohsiung's Asian New Bay Area. The idea of the tour was to enable the visitors to better understand the current state of Taiwan's development, thereby promoting bilateral exchanges and mutual understanding.
After taking Taiwan's Air Force One to Kaohsiung International Airport, the two presidents proceeded to the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center where, accompanied by Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), they were briefed about the Asian New Bay Area by Kaohsiung City Deputy Mayor Shih Che (史哲). The briefing afforded the visitors a chance to learn about big changes that have taken place in Kaohsiung in recent years, as well as the city's plans for the future.
After the briefing, the visitors watched a video with aerial views of the Asian New Bay Area. The video was filmed along a flight path following the route of the Kaohsiung light rail line (a circular line), and clearly showed the Asian New Bay Area's state of development. President Tsai, President Cartes, and his delegation then crossed over to some full-length windows to take in a view of the New Bay Area, as well as public infrastructure in the larger Kaohsiung Harbor district and coastal region.
In order to gain a more detailed understanding of the current state of the Asian New Bay Area, the two presidents then strolled to the Horizon City Marina and boarded a boat for a bay tour. They enjoyed views of the Bay Area as well as the Pier-2 Art Center, the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (a key part of the effort to promote Kaohsiung's convention industry), the Kaohsiung Port Terminal (an international tourist gateway to Taiwan), the Kaohsiung Maritime Cultural & Popular Music Center (a new Kaohsiung Harbor landmark), the Kaohsiung Main Public Library, the Kaohsiung Light Rail System, and other key infrastructure items. The tour gave participants some insight into the transformations and breakthroughs that Kaohsiung has achieved in recent years.