New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) early today returned to Taiwan after a 10-day visit to Australia, saying that the main purpose of the trip was to find ways to make his city more cosmopolitan.
Speaking to reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Hou said that he met with Australian government officials and lawmakers, and also visited a mental health center for young people to learn about support and prevention strategies that he hopes to use as a reference in New Taipei City.
With the 2032 Summer Olympics to be held in Brisbane, stadium projects there are in full swing, Hou said, adding that he and his delegation visited the sites to gain planning and design ideas for New Taipei City’s dome project.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The New Taipei City Government has not yet announced the site for its planned 50,000-seat multi-purpose dome stadium for sports, concerts and cultural events, and would do so at a later date, he said.
Hou said he also met with a team that plans the fireworks display over Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the aim of doing something similar over the Danjiang Bridge (淡江大橋) connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts, in the hopes of making it an international landmark when it opens in a few months.
While in Australia, Hou's delegation held discussions with authorities on ideas for libraries and other municipal projects, as well as dementia patient care, with the goal of making New Taipei City a more advanced and cosmopolitan city, he said.
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