Taichung World Flora Expo today (the 24th) was successfully closed attended by Mayor Shiow-Yen Lu. In her closing speech at the ceremony, Mayor Lu especially emphasized her appreciation by saying “Thank you, former mayors Jason Hu and Lin Chia-lung!” Mayor Lu thanked them for their “continuous promotion of policies without focusing on partisanship.” At the same time, she thanked the active participation of people various fields to make the Expo a successful one and she gave the honor to all the citizens of Taichung.

In her speech, Mayor Lu said on behalf of Taichung City Government, she would like to especially thank the support of the two former mayors, Jason Hu and Lin Chia-lung. The 2018 Taichung World Flora Expo was initiated first by former mayor Jason Hu who actively applied for the organization from AIPH in order to make Taichung become the second city in Taiwan that can host the Expo after Taipei. As the organizational works began, Jason Hu handed the work over to the next mayor, Lin Chia-lung.

Mayor Lu said that former Mayor Lin Chia-lung after taking over the office expanded the single exhibition arena from Houli to the other three sites also in Houli, Waipu and Fengyuan for more participation. Unlike traditional exhibition of the flower zone, the City Government invited more domestic and international participants to present diversity. The Expo was set with the theme of GNP that focuses on the value of harmonious and balanced development of green production, nature ecology and culture and life of the people. In addition, the leopard cat was selected as the mascot to attract visitors and promote the awareness of conservation that gives the Flora more profound meanings.

When running for mayor, Mayor Lu proposed a friendlier expo for citizens in Taichung and issues of doubts and injustice coming along with the Expo Card. She suggested that with their national identification cards, Taichung citizens can be freely admitted to the Expo to respond to the original plan of former mayor, Jason Hu. After her inauguration, she kept the promise for free admission of Taichung citizens, children under 12 years old, and new immigrants in Taichung and provided “the designated entrance for Taichung citizens.” From the active visits of citizens in Taichung to the Expo, this new policy indeed tied the Taichung World Flora Expo more closely with the people in Taichung and had a growth participation rate of 65%.

In addition to her appreciation to the two former mayors, Jason Hu and Lin Chia-lung, Mayor Lu also thanked the exhibition groups, individuals, sponsor businesses, more than 10,000 voluntary workers, seven million visitors, and staff of the Taichung City Government for their busy engagement for several years. She emphasized that the most beautiful scene of the Expo is everyone’s smile and joint efforts that left the most wonderful historical evidence for Taichung. She appreciated that very much and hopes that Taichung will become the must visit city for everyone and the City Government will continuously make use of the permanent pavilions and equipment to pursue the Expo spirit and to bring more development opportunities for Taichung after the conclusion of the Expo.

Mayor Lu said after she took over the office, she worked hard to organize the Expo and kept her promise of free admission of Taichung citizens to the Expo. Various promotions were launched and celebrities including Betty Pai and city and county mayors were invited to jointly promote the Expo. The popular leopard cat family was included in various events to attract more visitors to the Expo. Active promotions made the beautiful Expo more visible. The spirit of Expo is “harmony and fullness” and that is the result of our joint effort. She would give the honor to all citizens in Taichung. Once again, she appreciated everyone’s effort to make this Expo a very successful one.