Asia-Pacific Culture Day wraps up in Taipei

2014-09-10

The 2014 Asia-Pacific Culture Day concluded Sept. 7 at Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei City, underscoring government efforts to further boost ties between Taiwan and countries throughout the region.

“Asia-Pacific nations are important partners for Taiwan due to common cultural and anthropological backgrounds,” President Ma Ying-jeou said. “It is crucial for the government to take this bilateral understanding and communication to new heights.”

Ma made the remarks during an address at the two-day event organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also attending were ambassadors and representatives to Taiwan.

Entering into its third year, APCD featured booths showcasing specialty cuisines, artworks and tourism information from the representative offices of 19 countries such as Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore. The program also included dance and music shows by performers from nations like India, Marshall Islands and South Korea.

According to Ma, tourism exchanges between Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific are going from strength to strength. “Taiwan received 7.21 million Asia-Pacific tourist visits last year, reaching 92 percent of the country’s target for inbound tourist visits. For the first seven months this year, Asia-Pacific travelers accounted for 5.14 million of around 5.63 million inbound tourist visits.”

In addition, the president said, marriages between locals and natives of Southeast Asian nations are at the highest level.

“We will continue hosting similar events to Asia-Pacific Culture Day as a way of deepening ties between Taiwan and nations throughout the region,” Ma said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=221398&CtNode=413)