Seeds sewn by Flora Expo will take time to blossom

The Taipei Flora Expo is heralded, rightly, as a much-anticipated event and a honor for the city. As the city government points out, it is the first exposition recognized by international governing bodies such as the Association Internationale des Producteurs de l' Horticulture (AIPH, or in English, International Organization of Horticultural Producers) and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE, Bureau of International Expositions).

The city government hopes that a successful Flora Expo would, in the words of Mayor Hau Lung-bin, “promote the growth of floriculture in our country and drive economic and urban development around Taipei, as well as enhance the image of our city in the international community.”

However, as happens to all expositions of such scale, the true benefits of the Flora Expo would not be seen until after April next year. Meanwhile, Taipei citizens and businesses are already learning to deal with some inconveniences due to the preparation of the Flora Expo.

In one such example, taxi drivers are complaining about a six-month shutdown of a taxi rest area in Zhongshan district near the expo complex slated to begin in September. The drivers are particularly disappointed that the city government has not prepared additional help other than telling them to go to another rest area in Daan district, meaning that more drivers will need to share the same number of available restrooms, shower rooms and parking spaces for half a year.

The honor of hosting an international event often comes with the need to adjust. Taipei citizens will not be the first to find themselves making some changes to ensure a successful event. Beijing citizens learned to live with a partial vehicle ban in the downtown area for a clear sky during the 2008 Summer Olympics. Shanghai citizens are told to forego their unique habit of wearing pajamas out in the street in order to show (what their government believes to be) a more worldly side of the city during the ongoing World Expo.

There will be more inconveniences to come for the Taipei citizens as the city winds up for the expo in November but not all of them are unwanted. For example, the spate of road digging, an annoyance for now, can lead to better infrastructure for the Taipei citizens to enjoy long after the expo. Some may even argue that making some sacrifices for the course of hosting a major event can be a rare collective experience of citizenship for the Taipei people.

However, the organizers and the Taipei city government should help the citizens to have a positive experience in playing host to the Flora Expo by making clear to everyone what they are making sacrifices for.

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