TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) arrived in New York on Sunday (March 15) for her first U.S. visit as mayor. She paid tribute to the statue of Sun Yat-sen (孫中山), founder of the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name, at Columbus Park. Lu met with community leaders, including Eric Ng (伍銳賢), head of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (紐約中華公所), thanking overseas communities for their continued support of Taiwan.
Lu emphasized the statue's symbolic significance. "The statue of the founding father is not just a statue. It represents our unity with the Republic of China, which was established by the founding father and our overseas compatriots," she said. Her tour of major U.S. East Coast political and economic centers—Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.—has fueled speculation about a potential 2028 presidential bid.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) visited U.S. tech hubs, signing a memorandum of understanding in Arizona to boost semiconductor and talent cooperation. Accompanied by Kumamoto Prefecture's vice governor, Chen seeks to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain among Taiwan, the U.S., and Japan. "We have the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes globally, but we must lay a better foundation for the next five to ten years of development," Chen said. ◼
