Visiting Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego during a meeting with Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday called for direct flights between her city in Arizona and Taipei, as well as expanded bilateral cooperation.
Gallego is leading Phoenix Councilor Ann O’Brien and other city officials on an Asian trip, during which they are also to visit South Korea and Japan along with Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari.
She met with Chen in 2019 on her last visit to Taiwan when celebrating 40 years of the sister city relationship between Taipei and Phoenix.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
“Now, we mark 44 years and it is only stronger,” Gallego said.
She thanked Chen for putting in a good word with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which helped the city successfully recruit the company.
TSMC is investing US$12 billion to build a wafer plant in northern Phoenix that is scheduled to begin mass production next year.
In addition to a great business climate, and reliable power and water supplies, “we believe our people are what helped us convince TSMC to come to Phoenix,” Gallego said.
Phoenix also has great universities and developments in bioengineering, as well as world-leading achievements in tackling climate change, including the uses of advanced building materials and cool pavements, she said.
Taiwan and Phoenix could expand their cooperation on semiconductors to other areas, such as healthcare, biosciences and electric vehicles, she added.
Direct flights between Phoenix and Taipei could further facilitate business exchanges between Taiwan and the US, Gallego said.
“Many companies in Phoenix that are looking to enter Asia believe Taipei and Taiwan are the best locations to do so,” she said.
Taiwan and Arizona share a close relationship in economics and trade, Chen said, adding that Taiwan is Arizona’s ninth-largest export market, while Arizona is a key base for Taiwanese F-16 pilots to receive training from the US Air Force.
The initial agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which was signed last month, “provides a level playing field for businesses and creates greater incentives for Taiwanese enterprises to invest in the US,” he said.
The Arizona Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, which officially opened in March, has already begun to play an important role in deepening collaboration exchanges between the two sides, he added.
Including Arizona, 14 US states and Guam have established offices in Taiwan, which indicates that “Taiwan is a crucial hub for US states in developing access to Asian markets,” Chen said.
Chen praised Gallego as “an outstanding example of the new generation of female political leaders and a great supporter of gender equality,” adding that Taiwan would continue to promote gender equality education and increased female participation in the workplace.
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