2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors' Forum will place in Brisbane, Australia from July 7 to 10, and Taichung City Deputy Mayor Bruce Linghu has been invited to participate in the event. Last night (7th, Taiwan time), he attended the opening ceremony and met with Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner, Councilor Andrew Wines as well as numerous Mayors of Australian and Asia-Pacific cities. In addition to exchanging city administration experiences, Deputy Mayor Linghu also promoted events such as the Taichung Shopping Festival and marketed Taichung's tourism and agriculture. Furthermore, he paid a visit to local Chinese leaders and Taiwanese businesspeople in hopes of expanding overseas market opportunities for Taichung's products.

Deputy Mayor Linghu, Secretariat Nai-lun Yen, and city hall delegates arrived in Brisbane, Australia yesterday morning. Their first stop was at Raby Bay to visit local Chinese community leaders and real estate developer Chairman Yu-hung Lin and his wife, where Chairman Lin shared his experience in the investment and development of Raby Bay. According to him, since Taichung possesses myriads of advantages as a port city, he suggests utilizing the city's thriving cultural and creative industry to promote "Hi Chuang" and develop the coastal areas. At the same time, the city hall can design investment models to introduce domestic and overseas capital, thereby revitalizing the coastline and engender tourism and dining culture.

Deputy Mayor Linghu attended the 2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors' Forum opening ceremony later that evening, which saw participation by over 1,000 delegates from 85 cities. Brisbane City Hall not only arranged for indigenous performances to welcome the guests but also invited the leaders of various cities to experience the spectacular night scenery of the river in the city. During the summit, Deputy Mayor Linghu met with different Asia-Pacific city leaders including Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner, Councilor Andrew Wines, and Sejong Special Autonomous City Mayor Choon-hee Lee from South Korea to exchange experiences in city administration amid a lively ambiance. It is hoped that the summit will foster intercity economic development and the future prosperity of the Asia Pacific region.

According to Deputy Mayor Linghu, he visited Brisbane not only to partake in the 2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit but also to market Taichung's food, tourism, and shopping to international friends and overseas Chinese communities. These include the inaugural Taichung Shopping Festival due to kick off on July 10; the abundant tourism cultural resources of Taichung, and the diverse, innovative agricultural products of the city. For this visit, he brought along lacquerware from Fengyuan, indigo dye crafts from Taiping, flowers from Houli, tea from Lishan, as well as macrobiotic agricultural products from farmers' association in Daya, Shalu, Xinshe, and Wufeng for the city representatives at the summit. Furthermore, he also hopes to take advantage of the Taiwanese businesses' strength in marketing and channels to develop new markets abroad for Taichung's products.