Guests from six diplomatic allies and more than 70 other nations yesterday joined Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to celebrate the Taipei International Flora Exposition, which opens tomorrow.
Extending the city’s welcome, Hau said the expo is more than an exhibition of flowers and plants, it’s a demonstration of Taipei’s efforts to create a harmonious relationship between people and nature.
“We want to invite all our guests to experience the friendliness and warmth that distinguishes Taipei from other cities in the world,” Hau said during a banquet at the Grand Hotel last night.
The expo, which runs until April 25, is the largest international event ever hosted by the Taipei City Government.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Stepping up its promotional efforts two days ahead of the expo’s opening, the city government yesterday invited renowned designer Wang Chen Tsai-hsia (王陳彩霞) to present fashion label Shiatzy Chen’s flora-inspired spring-summer collection at the expo’s Palace of Flora Teas.
The expo’s organizing committee also invited Tomiya Yamada, a Japanese visitor who got the nickname “Expo Granny” during the Shanghai World Expo for her attendance for the duration of the fair, to serve as a tourist ambassador at the flora expo.
Premier Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said the expo is also one of the most important events in list of activities for the Republic of China’s centenary celebrations.
Some of the 14 pavilions erected at four sites, such as the Pavilion of the Future and the Pavilion of Dreams, are ideal places for families to experience the power of green energy in daily lif, Wu said.
He predicted they will become tourist hot spots.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will accompany the foreign dignitaries on a tour of the expo sites this afternoon and will attend an evening banquet at the Expo Hall.
Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), who visited the expo sites yesterday, said that he would invite Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) to visit the expo once the time and location of the sixth round of cross-strait negotiations has been determined.
SPECIAL VEHICLE
Meanwhile, an electric vehicle that runs on land and in water will debut at the flora expo, the vehicle’s developer said yesterday.
Unveiling the nine-seater vehicle, Bob Wong, chairman of optical disc maker CMC Magnetics Corp, said the Thru Bus is the world’s first amphibious electric vehicle that uses nickel-zinc batteries.
Starting in two weeks’ time, four of the vehicles will take visitors across the Keelung River from the expo’s Dajia Riverside Park site to the Miramar mall, Wong said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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