Two Taipeis Forum: Chu Liluan, Ke Wenzhe reached consensus on 46 projects
Two Taipeis Forum: Chu Liluan, Ke Wenzhe reached consensus on 46 projects
New Taipei City Mayor Chu Liluan and Taipei City Mayor Ke Wenzhe attended the Two Taipei’s Forum today (3/5). After an hour of discussion, the two city leaders reached consensus on 46 projects to improve citizen lives; topics discussed include funeral and interment affairs, wholesale fruits and vegetables, disaster relief and medical resources, and more. Mayor Chu stated that he and Mayor Ke are both pragmatists; Chu hopes that the collaboration between the two Taipeis will bring about greater benefits for citizens of the greater Taipei region.
In Chu’s speech, he stated that since 2011, the two cities have already completed 46 collaborative projects and 13 more projects are in progress. After the city officials from both sides conferred, they proposed 46 more projects with the potential for collaboration. The mayor said that he and Mayor Ke are both pragmatists and that he hopes with the two Taipeis working together, the governments can improve citizens’ lives in the greater Taipei region and advance the tourism sector.
In terms of funeral and interment affairs, Mayor Ke stated that as Taipei City’s interment space will run out in 7 years, collaboration in this area is crucial. He also encouraged officials from both cities to work more closely together to better the lives of the citizens of the greater Taipei region.
Mayor Chu said that historical reasons have divided Taipei and New Taipei into separate municipalities. However, the citizens in the greater Taipei region are all in one living sphere. In the collaboration between the two cities, there are many practical matters that are up for discussions, such as waste management, organic lunches for students, wholesale farm and fish markets, and interment affairs; these are all potential areas for collaboration. With the two cities working together, many of the challenges can be solved. Due to the geographical connection between the two cities, whether in transportation, living standards, economy, and many other areas, the cities need to depend on each other. From the perspective of future development and staying internationally relevant, the northern Taiwan governing bodies must foster greater collaboration.
Mayor Chu pointed out the joint effort between the two cities for the past four years has been fruitful. In addition to the 46 projects that were discussed today, there are more than 100 collaborative projects between the cities. This partnership is becoming a model for regional reorganization. Officials are looking to spread collaboration efforts to Keelung and Taoyuan, starting with the coordination of tourism resources between the two Taipeis and Keelung.
Mayor Chu also mentioned that he will aim to promote greater Taipei's tourist attractions in Singapore and Hong Kong during his planned visits. He said that whether it is Taipei 101, National Palace Museum, or Jiufen, these are all tourism resources that the two cities share.
The Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission reported that this forum is an important milestone in the continuing collaboration between the two cities. By the commission’s projections, more than 30 projects are ready to begin immediately. The rest would require more detailed discussion through task committees and with deliberations and reports by the two deputy mayors.
In today’s inaugural collaboration forum between the two cities, the emphasis was placed on improving citizen lives. Projects discussed include co-promoting community residences, using Big Data analysis to address traffic needs, regulating funeral costs in the two cities, strengthening bicycle routes and networks, increasing effort on the MRT construction in the greater Taipei region (already in-progress for the past four years), creating cross-city express buses, sharing Feitsui Dam, co-operating fire drills, expanding collaborations between universities, and others.
The two city mayor exchanged gifts after their speeches. Mayor Chu gifted a Sky Lantern shaped lamp, Sky Lantern cakes, and New Taipei personal tour guidebooks. Mayor Ke gifted cinnamon coffee cakes, Taipei 101 tea set, and Taipei Lantern Festival 2015 lantern.
For more information: Research, Development, and Evaluation Commission; Tel: 1999 or (02)2960-3456 ext. 8604, 8607, 8610