US action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is likely to visit Kaohsiung to give a speech in March, an appointee of Kaohsiung mayor-elect Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said yesterday.
Pan Heng-hsu (潘恆旭), who has been nominated as director of the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau, said that Han’s office has been in contact with Schwarzenegger and he has agreed in principle to a visit.
“However, we will have to wait until Han takes office to propose a more detailed reception plan, including an itinerary and accommodation,” Pan said.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
The tentative topic for Schwarzenegger’s speech is the movie industry and new-world politics, said a source with knowledge of the matter, who asked to remain anonymous.
Pan said that after Han’s inauguration on Tuesday, the tourism bureau and the Kaohsiung Information Bureau would set up a “celebrity task force,” which would be in charge of inviting celebrities from the US, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau to help promote Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, to celebrate Han’s inauguration, the Kaohsiung Post Office is to release a limited-edition stamp set featuring cartoon depictions of the incoming mayor, a Ferris wheel motel that he has promised to build near the Love River, as well as some of Kaohsiung’s popular tourist destinations and buildings.
The set aims to humorously capture Han’s policy platforms, his campaign slogans — most notably the phrase “making Kaohsiung rich” — and things most associated with his campaign, such as barbecued sausages and people driving around the city on scooters to campaign for him.
The set has a yellow button that, when pushed, plays the military song Night Raid (夜襲), which played at some of Han’s campaign events, the post office said.
Eleven thousand of the stamp sets are to be sold from 8am to 12pm on Tuesday at a temporary stand where Minsheng Road meets the Love River, the post office said.
Ten percent of the proceeds would be donated to the Methodist Church “to protect the education of schoolchildren” in remote areas or from economically disadvantaged families, it said.
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