TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A porcelain plate almost crashed to the floor as Kaohsiung City Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was handing it over to the visiting chairman of Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. on Thursday (April 9).
The group was looking at investment possibilities in the southern port town, where Han is likely to face a recall election, probably in June. In 2016, the Japan company opened a Mitsui Outlet Park in Linkou, New Taipei City, and Kaohsiung is being considered as the next investment location, the Liberty Times reported.
As Han handed over a plate showing the city’s Dragon and Tiger Pagodas to Mitsui Fudosan Taiwan Chairman Ichiro Shimomachi, it slipped out of their hands. This led to an eruption of cries from the journalists present and some acrobatics from the two protagonists to avert a public relations disaster.
The plate survived and city officials said Mitsui Fudosan was looking at three or four possible sites to invest up to NT10 billion (US$332.5 million), with a decision expected to be announced by the end of the year. The project could result in the
creation of 1,000 jobs, according to a city government spokesman.
