The Presidential Southern Office in Kaohsiung was inaugurated on Friday as part of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) campaign to counteract the nation’s north-south divide.
Her administration plans to balance the economic, cultural and political divergence between the north and south, Tsai said at the opening ceremony.
“The government cannot let itself be planted in the north and look at the world from Taipei’s perspective alone,” she said, adding that the office would also be an ideal place to hold meetings and discussions with academics and politicians who hail from the south.
Tsai thanked Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and her administration for making the office possible.
Chen, who was with Tsai at the inauguration reception, expressed her gratitude to the president on behalf of the people of Kaohsiung.
Tsai’s administration last year proposed setting up a southern office.
In October last year the decision was made to set up the president’s southern office in unused office space on the third floor of the Kaohsiung City Government’s Fengshan Administration Center.
Commenting on concerns that the office might require additional funds or staff, Tsai said that the space was provided for free.
“This office space has been provided free of charge courtesy of the Kaohsiung City Government,” she said.
The office was borrowed from the Kaohsiung City Government to serve as a platform for meetings with politicians and guests in the south, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said.
Another presidential office for central Taiwan is being discussed, Huang said.
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