Taipei Travel

On March 26, Mayor Ko Wen-je arrived in Kuala Lumper on his first official visit to Southeast Asia. The eight-day trip includes stops in Malaysia, Thailand, and India, seeking to promote tourism as well as the Summer Universiade in Taipei. The mayor will return to Taiwan on April 2. The mayor tried out the Malaysian delicacy Bak Kut Teh on the first leg of his trip, noting that he would recommend oyster omelet for Malaysians planning on visiting Taiwan. Speaking of methods for attracting Malaysian tourists, Ko reckoned that providing incentives for studying in Taiwan could help boost the number of Malaysian visitors to the island from 490,000 in 2016. During his address at a Fun Taipei Night event, Ko pointed out that the city government has invited Malaysian actress Yana Samsudin and chef Dato’ Fazley Yaakob to market Taipei in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The celebrities starred in promotional videos, which have been well-received among the Malaysian public. He added that both Kuala Lumpur and Taipei share the same trait of being an inclusive city embracing diversity in culture and religions. Pointing out that Taipei will be hosting the Summer Universiade and and Kuala Lumpur the Southeast Asian Games respectively in August this year, the mayor stressed that the two metropolises will explore opportunities to share experience in holding the international sports events.According to Taipei City Government spokesperson Liu Yi-ting, the mayor and the city delegation will attend Fun Taipei Night events to promote Taipei’s specialties, cuisines, and tourist attractions during the Southeast Asian trip. Other highlights during their sojourn in Malaysia include a visit to the tech hub of Cyberjaya and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and a MOU signing with the State of Selangor to strengthen cooperation on transportation, entrepreneurship, and smart city initiatives. In India, Ko will also introduce Taipei’s economic development achievements and smart city policies to Indian representatives at the Taipei-New Delhi Industrial Cooperation Forum to pave way for establishing ties between corporations of the two sides.