Hu attends the awards ceremony in the UK (photo by
Huang Zhen-zhen)

Mayor Hu and city government
officials show off their new
award.

Mayor Hu talks about his plan
to promote culture, creativity and industry at a news
conference.

Fulfillment Amphitheater is one of Taichung's successful cultural
establishments.

Taichung City: A Star is Born

Words and pictures by Taichung City Goverment
Translated by Sho Huang

After lengthy and heated discussion, Taichung beat out Lima, Peru and Albuquerque, New Mexico to win the Culture and Arts Award at The World Leadership Forum. Winning this award has finally earned Taichung some international recognition.

Taichung's Mayor Jason Hu went to the UK to accept this fine award in person and also held a press conference to share the good news. Hu offered his thanks for the hard work of everyone in Taichung and explained that the honor really belonged to the people of the city, adding that over the next two years he would continue to enrich cultural activities and tourism in the area. In this way, Taichung will continue to receive international attention.

Four hundred cities competed for the Culture and Arts Award, one of many presented by the World Leadership Forum. However, only three cities made it to the finals. The competition was really fierce, because both Lima and Albuquerque are wonderful cities full of culture. To show his sincerity and desire to win the award, Mayor Hu traveled to London, where he personally delivered Taichung's presentation to the panel of judges. After a lengthy and heated discussion among the judges, Taichung was awarded first place. This is exciting news for everyone in central Taiwan.

The World Leadership Forum was established in 2005 in the UK. Its goal is to find cities that have outstanding achievements in various areas and hold them up as a good example for other cities in the world. From beginning to end, the process is open and transparent. Fifteen awards are handed out, in diverse categories like development, information, culture and arts, economics, youth education, the environment, health, law, technology, leisure and sports, city planning, and transportation.

Although the forum hasn't been around very long, it has already attracted world-wide attention, and had had more than 400 cities compete annually for the past three years. Taichung is the first city in Taiwan to enter the final round of judging; it is extremely difficult to be selected, as the competition is pretty tough. The mayor said that some of the judges may never have heard of Taichung before, but they are sure to hear his victory cry, "A Star is Born", again and again in the coming years.

Many factors contributed to Taichung's victory. Besides its great geographic advantages and its rich cultural background, Taichung has worked hard to promote its cultural and art development. Well-known projects include a bid for a Taichung Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Opera House, the completion of Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, and the Fulfillment Amphitheater. Events include the Shining Cultural Season, which promotes traditional culture and invites world renowned musicians and groups to perform in Taichung. Past and future performers include the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Yo-Yo Ma, and the fantastic violinist, Lin Zhao-liang.

The number of Taichung citizens who participate in cultural activities grows larger every year as well. Government statistics show in 2001, on average, each person attended only 3.92 cultural activities per year. Now, that number is up to 28.38. The judges at the forum were highly impressed with this increase, which aided in Taichung's victory.

When the winners were announced and Taichung's name was broadcast, not only Mayor Hu, but the representatives from other countries were all cheering loudly. Deputy UK diplomat Mo Hua-wei came to Mayor Hu and congratulated him by saying "Good job! I know it's very hard for Taiwan to win international recognition." We're all proud to make Taiwan's name known as a benchmark in culture.

Mayor Hu said that he was really pleased with the award. However, he also understands that he can't get carried away, as Taichung now has more responsibilities. He's been contemplating Taichung's next step, having gained inspiration from talking with the representatives from other countries and cities. His goal for the next two years is to really make the culture industry take off. Although Taichung won the award this time, there is still a lot of room for improvements as we all work together to build a city where culture and arts bloom.