Taiwan should enhance its efforts to expand relations between local administrations and their counterparts across the Pacific, visiting local government-level politicians from the US said yesterday.
Guy Houston, mayor of Dublin City in the Silicon Valley, Alameda County, California, told the Taipei Times yesterday that more ties with the rest of the world would ensure Taiwan's economic prosperity and national security.
PHOTO: HSU HWEI-LING, TAIPEI TIMES
Houston is a part of a delegation visiting Taiwan to promote commercial cooperation between Taiwan and the US.
"I was very involved in President Bush's campaign and I know President Bush's commitment to Taiwan," Houston said.
"Therefore, I will go home to encourage more types of ties, such as commercial cooperation, cultural exchange and tourist business."
Houston is a member of a delegation from Alameda County, which is visiting Taoyuan County on a three-day tour from March 14 until today to promote exchanges between Taoyuan and Alameda counties.
The delegation arrived at a time when Taiwanese investment in China has once again become a controversial issue.
Taoyuan and Alameda signed a sister-county agreement in July 1998 under former County Commissioner Annette Lu (
The head of the Council for Economic Planning and Development recently appealed to Taiwan's local governments to create a better investment environment in order to attract more foreign enterprises and prevent capital outflows from Taiwan.
Chen Po-chih (
Members of the US delegation told the Taipei Times that they had already read about Taiwan's capital outflow to China.
Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty also said during the visit to Taoyuan County Hall that the delegation was aware of the problems, and that they would like to diversify commercial cooperation between Taiwan and their county.
Houston said that the exchanges between Taoyuan County and Alameda County could be regarded as a proactive response to the CEPD's appeal.
"Taiwan should establish ties between local administrations not only with our county or country, but with the whole world to protect its security and interests."
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