Kaohsiung is positioning itself as a base for the “new southbound policy,” a central government initiative to build new partnerships with South and Southeast Asian nations, city officials said yesterday.
With its advantage as a sea and air transportation hub, Kaohsiung is well poised to become a central player in the southbound policy, officials at the city’s Economic Development Bureau said.
Furthermore, Kaohsiung’s location gives it the additional advantage of proximity to Southeast Asia, not just geographically, but also in terms of industrial development and living environment, the bureau said.
Kaohsiung will seek to integrate its resources to become a springboard for Taiwan to launch further into the markets of South and Southeast Asia, the bureau said.
The “new southbound policy” is an initiative by the government to expand its trade and investment ties with ASEAN member states and countries in South Asia.
Following the Democratic Progressive Party government taking office in May, the Presidential Office established a New Southbound Policy Office to implement the five-year plan amid concerns that Taiwan has grown too economically dependent on China.
The idea of Kaohsiung playing a central role in the initiative was proposed by the bureau at a Global Harbor Cities Forum that opened on Tuesday in the city and is being attended by delegations from Selangor, Malaysia; Jakarta; Cebu in the Philippines; and Vietnam’s Danang, Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh cities.
They are among the 100-plus delegates from 49 cities in 25 nations, including five cities in Taiwan, who are taking part in the forum, which ends today.
Yesterday morning, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) took the Danang and Haiphong delegations on a visit to Jhong-Jheng Elementary School, which offers Vietnamese language and culture classes.
Chen said the introduction of such classes in Kaohsiung schools is supported by subsidies from the city government as part of its efforts to cater to its growing population of immigrants and position itself as a base for the central government’s policy.
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