Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

The mayoral interpellation session at Taipei City Council on May 13 was an event characterized by tea in the midst of a makeshift garden inside the council chamber.
To place an emphasis on issues related with the upcoming 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo and carbon emission reduction, city councilors Lin Ruey-tou, Chen Yi-chou, Chen Yung-te, and Ou Yan Long invited the mayor and city officials to the floor of the chamber to enjoy tea while proceeding with the interpellation session.
City Councilor Ou Yang Long suggested that the greenify effort carried out by the city government should be implemented at each of its affiliated agency. The mayor remarked that he has the experience of conducting similar projects when he was the minister of the central government’s Environmental Protection Administration, and he would encourage the active involvement of agency personnel by organizing competitions in this area.
City Councilor Lin Ruey-tou asked the mayor for details about the logistics of the flora expo. Economic Development Commissioner Chen Hsiung-wen reported that the majority of local plants and flowers at the expo come from central and southern Taiwan. The seedlings will be stored at plots managed by the Department of Economic Development and the Parks and Street Lights Office. He also indicated that the peony seedlings from Japan’s Matsue City are stored on Yangmingshan.
According to Chen, 45 nations have signed up for the Taipei International Flora Expo. A number of participating countries have indicated that they will be using flowers from Taiwan. To provide the necessary logistics support, Taipei City Government has contacted the Flower Market and expressed its interest in working with local flower businesses to ensure that the plants are in the best condition for the foreign participants.