The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and Tainan’s Yi Tsai Club jointly hosted a business banquet on Feb. 15 at Silks Place Tainan. Guests included AIT Commercial Section Chief Brent Omdahl, AIT Kaohsiung Branch Office Chief Thomas Wong, Yi Tsai Club Chairperson Chen Li-fen, and numerous business representatives. Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che attended the event with Department of Information and International Relations Director-General Su En-en and Economic Development Bureau Director General Lin Rong-chuan. The Mayor and AIT Section Chief Brent Omdahl talked about business relations between Tainan and the US.
The banquet is expected to serve as a dialog platform to boost collaborations between the member businesses of the Yi Tsai Club as well as businesses in Southern Taiwan and the US. The Mayor took the opportunity to thank Yi Tsai Club’s contributions to the development of Southern Taiwanese industries and for galvanizing Tainan’s economic development and creating job opportunities and value.
Mayor Huang pointed out that Tainan is also working on how to ensure a stable and sustainable energy supply for its “Greater Tainan Technology Corridor”. The Corridor consists of Tainan Science Park, an important hub for semiconductor industries in Southern Taiwan, and Shalun Green Energy Science City, which has sped up the development of data security, smart technologies, and renewable energy sectors.
In the area of renewable energy, Tainan City has been selected as a city with outstanding performance in promoting renewable energy for three consecutive years by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Last year (2022), Tainan won the National Sustainable Development Awards and is the nation’s only government agency to receive an award in green energy promotion. Tainan continues to promote the establishment of PV systems as well. The city’s current reserve margin has already reached 3.7 GW. It is estimated the annual generation amount can reach 4.79 kWh and supply the power consumption of 1.36 million households.
The AIT expressed that citizens in Taiwan and the US are establishing increasing interactions through trade, investments, education, and cultural exchanges. The Institute also promoted the 2023 Select USA investment summit during the event. They believe the US and Taiwan will continue to maintain a solid partnership based on our shared values, mutual aid, and collaboration.
Looking ahead, Tainan City hopes AIT will continue to offer support and resources to Taiwanese manufacturers and US businesses in the semiconductor, 5G, IoT/internet security, EV, and energy sectors so that the businesses involved can boost their capacities and mutually benefit and prosper.