Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) The Taiwanese know little about the booming state of Western Australia (WA) , and it's about time to change all that, an Australian offical visiting Taiwan said Wednesday.
Most people in Taiwan don't know that Western Australia's domestic economy grew at a rate of 14 percent in the second quarter of 2006, higher than China's 11.3 percent, said Michael Sutherland, deputy mayor of Perth.
Most people know more about eastern Australia, where most Taiwanese tourists visit, Sutherland said.
In fact, Taiwan and Western Australia have already established strong links. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Taiwan is WA's sixth largest export market. In 2005-2006, it exported A$1.2 billion worth of goods to Taiwan, including iron ore, petroleum, nickel, copper, gold and seafood.
In return, Western Australia bought back from Taiwan iron construction materials as well as motorcycles, rubber tires, sporting goods and electrical equipment.
For tourists, Western Australia -- especially Perth -- is also a place well worth the visit, Sutherland said.
"Perth has great scenery, clean air, outdoor living, good food and wine. It is also easy to move around the modern city where there are no traffic jams. It's the place to go for an easy holiday," he said, adding that Perth and Taipei are in the same time zone, another plus.
These reasons are why Perth was ranked in the top five "most livable cities" by the Economist Magazine in 2005, he noted.
The Taiwanese population in Western Australia has been consistently increasing in recent years. Sutherland said local governments in Western Australia will be encouraging people there to learn more about and experience Taiwan first-hand as well.