Thursday, October 12, 2006

DEVELOPMENT OF TAIPEI CITY `IMPRESSIVE': AUSTRALIAN OFFICIAL

Taipei, Oct. 11 (CNA) The development of Taipei City is very impressive compared to the last time he visited, an Australian official visiting Taiwan said in an interview with the CNA Wednesday.

"The city is improving. I can tell by the number of new buildings since the last time I was here, " said Michael Sutherland, Deputy Lord Mayor of the Western Australian city of Perth.

"And of course, the Taipei 101 building is the ultimate tourist attraction, " said Sutherland, who described the tallest building in the world as a "space age building."

Sutherland also was impressed by the National Day celebration he attended a day earlier.

There are some similarities and differences between Perth and Taipei, he said. People in the two cities are friendly, but Taipei is much bigger than Perth and needs to maximize its use of land, he said.

Perth and Taipei established a Charter of Mutual Friendship program in 1999. In addition to bilateral exchanges in urban development, the cities have been engaged in more cultural and art activities in recent years, Sutherland said.

Sutherland, who worked as a teacher and a solicitor prior to his political career, also encouraged Taiwan people to visit Perth.