Taipei City Government

On February 14, the incoming director of New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office (NZCIO) Marl Pearson paid a courtesy call on International Affairs Commissioner Tom Chou at city hall. The officials exchanged opinions on topics ranging from traffic to culture to pandemic prevention.
 
Representative Pearson remarked that Taipei is a city full of vitality, and he is very honored to have the opportunity to serve as the director of NZCIO. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, established partner city ties with Taipei City in 2015. He hopes to further strengthen friendship and collaboration between the two cities.
 
Commissioner Chou noted that with the ongoing global pandemic, it is difficult to visit cities in other nations. Nevertheless, Taipei City continues to connect with the global community. In 2021, it took part in virtual mayor-to-mayor meetings with 7 international cities to discuss issues spanning cultural exchanges to pandemic prevention measures. He is optimistic that Taipei will learn much through exchanges with Wellington and proposed a possible online conference between the mayor of Taipei City and the mayor of Wellington.
 
Chou added that Taipei continues to pursue internationalize, encouraging the local representative offices of foreign countries to work with city hall in organizing cultural activities and exhibitions. A total of 18 such events were held in 2021.
 
Director Pearson expressed great interest in the possible exchange of indigenous people of Taiwan and New Zealand. He hopes to work with city hall on planning a cultural occasion involving both the Maori people and the indigenous people of Taiwan. He also cited past collaboration between the two cities in filmmaking through the respective municipal film commissions and looks forward to continuing such partnership.
 
At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Chou praised New Zealand’s effort in effective pandemic control and management, winning it top places in Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking.