Kaohsiung City, which has the largest commercial port in Taiwan and is the largest city in southern Taiwan, has been nurturing the economy of Taiwan with its massive throughput of goods containers for years. In the 21st century, Kaohsiung connects to the outside world through Kaohsiung International Airport and the Port of Kaohsiung (ranked No. 6 in the world in terms of total export/import volume). An MRT system and a Light Rail Transit network is in place for travel around the city, and the High Speed Rail and TaiRail (soon to go underground), for connections around Taiwan. With such balanced development of land, sea, and air transport infrastructure and, in particular, a complete transport network to be developed comprising “2 Ports and 4 Railways”, a rapid in-flow of capital, manpower, and resources can be expected and stimulation of the urban economy is foreseeable.

Since the accession of our present city government, it has been the wish of all government officials to bring happiness to all residents and make life pleasant and comfortable in Kaohsiung. We shall encourage the involvement of residents in the city’s administration through the implementation of a consultative style democracy, on the premise that “the disadvantaged should be looked after as a first priority and urban areas should be developed in a balanced manner”, so that the city government and residents may work side by side to transform this former city of industry into a city for living, a happy waterside city suitable for all-comers.

Through the efforts of former mayors, Kaohsiung City has undergone some surprising changes over the years. In the future, the city government will continue with city construction based on this legacy and as a cornerstone for sustainability. Our vision includes a romantic boat cruise plan (already under implementation) in the middle and down stream of the shimmering ribbon of our city — the Love River; beautification of wharves 1 to 22 to lessen residents distance from the sea; the launch of the International Exhibition Center and the Inter-Continental Container Terminal to tap into Kaohsiung’s geographical advantages to reach out and open a door to the world and live up to its name as a marine capital. Recruitment for a multifunctional commercial and trade park as well as resource re-arrangement for the tourism industry is also underway to reinvigorate the economy. In addition to infrastructure construction, the needs of the underprivileged and minorities will also be regarded as main priorities, with a view to building up Kaohsiung City into a humanistic benchmark in southern Taiwan.

As the 2009 World Games approach, Kaohsiung prepares to display its energy and brilliance to the world. At such a meaningful moment, all members of the city government prepare for this great festival of sports with meticulous care and great excitement. Much effort and many resources have been devoted to the construction of infrastructure, sports promotion, and sports industry development as well as development of transportation, tourism and arts facilities, and the nurturing of international talent to achieve one goal; that is, to present the best face of Kaohsiung to the world in 2009 so that she may become a truly global city.

To realize this future vision of happiness for our residents, we shall uphold the ideal of a “Joyful Kaohsiung” as the core concept for our administration. Besides infrastructure construction, the concept of “humanism” shall also be upheld and city construction shall be based on “civic participation, protection of the disadvantaged, economic growth, and balanced development”. To conclude, our vision for the future is to build up Kaohsiung into a joyful seaside capital and southern Taiwan’s economic powerhouse.

As such, following the “2008 Annual Policy Guidance” of the Executive Yuan, the city government’s “Mid-term Administrative Objective System 2006-2008”, and mid-term administrative plan, and to meet the requirements for the 2009 World Games and the business development of related departments, the administrative objectives and departmental administrative items are established as follows: