TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) expressed gratitude Friday (April 11) to Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) for her swift endorsement of a substantial NT$88 billion (US$2.68 billion) emergency funding package designed to shield Taiwanese manufacturers from looming U.S. tariffs. The president's remarks came during a high-stakes visit to Taichung, Taiwan's manufacturing heartland, where he convened with 25 industry leaders from the region's vital machinery sector to discuss the potential fallout from Washington's threatened trade measures and to outline the Executive Yuan's (行政院), Taiwan's cabinet, comprehensive economic support initiative.
The meeting proceeded without Mayor Lu, who was detained by official duties at a city council session where she was scheduled to deliver a special policy presentation. In her absence, Vice Mayor Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) greeted the presidential delegation and conveyed the mayor's formal apologies along with her appreciation for President Lai's direct outreach to Taichung's business community. President Lai graciously acknowledged the mayor's prior commitments while emphasizing the critical importance of her cross-party backing for the relief package, noting that her support could prove decisive in securing legislative approval for the emergency funds.
The high-level industry consultation brought together influential figures from Taiwan's precision manufacturing sector, including David Chuang, chairman of the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會), a powerful trade organization representing hundreds of equipment manufacturers. Also participating were Cho Wen-heng (卓文恒), chairman of HIWIN Technologies (上銀科技), a global leader in motion control and industrial automation components, and Ku Ai-mei (郭璦玫), general manager of Sun Firm Machinery (三鋒機器), a prominent machine tool manufacturer with significant export exposure to the American market. ★