At a Double Ten National Day flag-raising ceremony yesterday, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the most important mission for his administration is to build Taipei into a “livable” city that embraces diverse cultures and ethnicities.
The ceremony drew thousands of participants, who packed the plaza in front of the Taipei City Hall.
Ko said he put forth the idea of a “livable city” when his administration was drafting its vision for Taipei, which met with mixed reviews from his aides.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“Many people said that the vision is not ‘flashy’ and ‘grand’ enough, but I disagree. I believe that building a city where people can live their life happily is the top priority for a city government,” Ko said.
He said that one of the highlights of yesterday’s ceremony was participants from a wide range of ethnicities, including Hakka, Taiwanese, Aborigines and new residents — foreign spouses and their children.
“We hope Taipei can be not just a culturally diverse city, but a city where everybody can live together in harmony,” he said.
Ko later joined Taipei City Government officials in singing the national anthem, and wished the nation a happy birthday as event organizers rolled out a gigantic “birthday cake” made up of folded towels decorated as bees — to symbolize the city government’s diligent work attitude.
He later joined the crowd in making a “double ten” sign, taking selfies with event participants.
On why some of his top officials were absent, Ko said that attendance was not mandatory.
“Those who wanted to come in the first place all came... We need to accommodate different views. Shortly after I took office, I told my officials: ‘You do not need to serve political parties and you do not need not to serve politics. You just need to serve the people.’”
He later served as a judge in a culinary contest held by the Taipei Department of Civil Affairs, which was participated in by 18 new residents from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt and China.
A contestant from Thailand won the competition, cooking a gravy stewed with tomatoes, which the department said was a Thai-influenced rendition of the gravy used in stewed pork rice, a famous Taiwanese dish.
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