Secretariat, Taipei City Government

After Sandra Oudkirk, the new director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) took office in mid-July, the external affairs team of the Taipei City Government has been actively discussing future bilateral cooperation with AIT. On the morning of August 30, Director Oudkirk visited the Taipei City Government with four key AIT officials, including Deputy Director Jeremy Cornworth. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-Je personally received Director Oudkirk’s team, and the Taipei City Government also invited Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang; Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-Kun; Secretary General Chen Chih-Ming; Ambassador Tom Chou, Commissioner of Mayor’s Office for External Affairs and Director of the Civil Servant Development ; and Gordon Yang, Executive Director of the Taipei City Government International Affairs Advisory Council, to attend this key meeting, which reflected the high level of importance and expectations that both sides have attached to this meeting.
 
To provide Director Oudkirk with a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Taipei City, Mayor Ko asked Ambassador Chou to briefly introduce the key policies and highlights of the municipal government. Ambassador Chou and Director Oudkirk are both senior diplomats, and they have both served as senior officials of APEC. This exchange focused on topics such as post-pandemic industrial development, education, and cultural cooperation. Director Oudkirk believes that Taiwan’s scientific and technological development, particularly the semiconductor supply chain, plays a key role in the global economy. Furthermore, Taipei City is at the forefront of smart city and smart education development. She also suggested that Taipei City develop friendly relations with other sister cities, such that these friendly relations can aid the cultivation of scientific and high-tech talents in the future.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected livelihoods and economies worldwide since 2020. To enhance the city’s international competitiveness, Taipei City published “Taipei Cities Post Pandemic Industrial Digital Transformation Policy White Paper” in February 2021. Mayor Ko brought a copy of the paper to the meeting and presented it to Director Oudkirk. He also said that a new version will be released in December, and that this version will be shared with Director Oudkirk. Director Oudkirk expressed her gratitude, and she responded that small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of an economy, and that digital transformation is a challenging goal.
 
Lastly, Mayor Ko expressed his hope of visiting the United States again after the pandemic has been brought under control, with the aim of enhancing the relationship between Taipei City and key cities in the United States through exchanges in multiple areas including trade, health care, education, and culture.