Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"As for the AIT's new home ... most of the problems have be solved," Ma said at an outdoor celebration for the July 4 holiday.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The American Chamber of Commerce organized the event, which took place at the Taipei American School.
Ma assured the de facto US ambassador to Taiwan, who he met for the first time in Washington in the mid-1980s, that the city government would do its best to make sure that AIT could move into its new home by 2007.
Paal and his wife, Betsy Paal, a veteran State Department official specializing in foreign aid, expressed their appreciation for Ma's pledge.
AIT plans to vacate its offices on Hsinyi Road in downtown Taipei and make a public driving school in Neihu its new home, sources said.
The US government had planned to purchase the land for the new office, but instead decided to lease because the costs of land and construction would have come to an estimated US$200 million -- much more than the amount of congressional funding, sources said.
Paal greeted Ma at the event with a smile, while the mayor engaged in light-hearted talk about the weather, saying it's nice that Paal and his wife no longer have to worry about the drought.
Betsy Paal, wearing a brooch featuring an American flag, said perhaps it's the Paal's arrival in town that has brought rain to Taiwan, with her light-hearted remarks triggering laughter from onlookers.
The Paals, who arrived in Taipei on July 1, declined to answer any serious questions from the media, instead engaging in conversation with other partygoers.
After the mayor sang the national anthems of Taiwan and the US, in an apparent move to entertain the more than 1,000 participants, Paal began his formal remarks with a humorous note on Ma's performance.
Paal said that despite having met Ma 15 years ago, wasn't aware of the mayor's singing skills, adding that the Harvard education Ma had received has not "harmed" him, triggering another bout of laughter from the audience.
Paal then read aloud US President George W. Bush's declaration delivered to mark the July 4 celebration, which stressed the nation's appreciation for Americans engaged in the US-led war against terror.
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