Mayor Chen Chu's Visit to Miami／陳菊市長參訪美國邁阿密市
Mayor Chen Chu's Visit to Miami
◎English translation by Lin Yi-chun
◎Photos by Kao Chi-tse
Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu led a delegation consisting of city government staff, council members and representatives from the marine industries to the United States for a week-long visit starting February 17. The group included John Lu, Chairman of the Taiwan Yacht Industry Association (TYIA).
Mayor Chen visited Miami, one of Kaohsiung's sister cities, and attended a ceremony marking the signing of a letter intent between TYIA and Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF).
During the visit, Mayor Chen exchanged valuable experience in developing the cruise economy with Miami, and the forging of strong cooperative ties between the two cities. Observing the Miami International Boat Show, which is held in Miami each February, was a key part of the delegation's agenda. The delegation also visited Miami International Airport, hoping to gain knowledge and information useful for the development of Kaohsiung Air Cargo Park.
During the signing ceremony, Mayor Chen said the two cities would forge even closer cooperative bonds. Kaohsiung and Miami are both ocean cities, and they both have world-renowned international ports. They have been sister cities for 25 years. Through this cooperation, they shall gain a deeper mutual understanding and will work closely together to improve the marine industries and the environment in the United States and Taiwan by sharing expertise and market information.
Kaohsiung's yacht industry is one of the city's flagship industries. To better promote the development of the industry, the city government has built the 113-hectare South Start Yacht Industrial Park as a key manufacturing base for yacht exports. After the completion and opening of the much-awaited Kaohsiung World Trade Exhibition Center in 2013, the inaugural Taiwan International Boat Show will be held in Kaohsiung in April 2014.
The Port of Miami is world's largest cruise-ship port. Building on a half-century of experience of hosting cruise ships, the Miami International Boat show is now the second-largest boat show in the world. Because the yacht ports near the Port of Miami possess complete facilities, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado arranged for Mayor Chen to visit the local ports and exchange information. The experience of hosting large boat shows shared by South Florida's marine industry will greatly help the TYIA and Kaohsiung City Government when they host the 2014 Taiwan International Boat Show.
陳菊市長參訪美國邁阿密市
◎文／張嘉玲
◎攝影／高嘉澤
高雄陳菊市長於2月17日率市府團隊、市議員及台灣區遊艇公會理事長呂佳揚等產業界代表訪美，進行為期7天的參訪。陳市長拜訪高雄姐妹市邁阿密市，並於2月18日出席台灣區遊艇公會與南佛羅里達海洋產業協會簽署合作意向書典禮。
此次陳市長與邁阿密市長里加拉多分享郵輪經濟發展的寶貴經驗，深化雙方更緊密的交流合作，邁阿密市於每年2 月份舉辦的「邁阿密國際遊艇展」亦是另一個觀摩的重點。訪問團一行人，亦走訪邁阿密國際機場，作為高雄發展航空貨運園區的他山之石。
陳市長於2月18日出席台灣區遊艇公會與南佛羅里達海洋產業協會簽署合作意向書典禮表示，雙方今後將展開更密切的合作，高雄市與邁阿密市同為海洋城市，同時也擁有著名的國際港口，雙方締結姊妹市已25年。透過此次合作，雙方互相增進了解並緊密互動，分享雙方的專業知識及市場知識，以幫助改善美國與台灣的海洋產業和環境。
高雄市已經將遊艇產業列為旗艦產業 ，為積極輔導產業發展，打造南星計畫佔地113公頃的遊艇產業園區，成為台灣遊艇外銷重要製造基地。各界引頸期盼的「高雄世界貿易會展中心」預計於102年底完工啟用後，隔年4月將舉辦「 2014年台灣國際遊艇展」，這也是台灣首度舉辦國際遊艇展。
邁阿密市是全球最大的郵輪港，邁阿密遊艇展歷經半世紀的發展，更為全球第2大遊艇展。邁阿密市周邊遊艇碼頭設施完備，邁阿密市長里加拉多特地邀請陳市長參觀當地的港區建設。南佛羅里達辦理大型國際船展的優良經驗，將協助台灣區遊艇公會和高雄市政府舉辦「2014年台灣國際遊艇展」。