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Yuanyue Dang

Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an is set to visit Shanghai for a joint forum, an event that will be watched closely by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Chiang will travel to Shanghai on December 27 and 28 for the Shanghai-Taipei City Forum, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported on Thursday.
On Friday, mainland state news agency Xinhua said the annual forum would convene in Shanghai on December 28 and be based on the theme “Technology Transforming Life”.
The forum, which was first held in 2010, will run for one day, the same duration as last year’s event in Taipei.


Taiwan’s China Times reported that Chiang told the Taipei City Council on Thursday his Shanghai itinerary would “not involve politics”.
On Thursday afternoon, Liang Wen-chieh, spokesman for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), told the Taipei city government its delegation should “focus on municipal exchanges” in Shanghai.
He said the MAC must be notified in advance of any deviation from the pre-approved itinerary and the Taipei delegation must gain approval from the island’s highest administrative authority before signing any cooperation agreement with Shanghai.
Liang added that the Taipei delegation’s two-day itinerary was determined “based on considerations and decisions by the Taipei city government” and was “unrelated to the political atmosphere”.
The forum arrives at a tense moment in cross-strait relations – most recently, Taiwan authorities banned the mainland Chinese social media app RedNote, drawing sharp criticism from Beijing and a backlash within Taiwan.
The forum is also one of the few events attended by officials from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
Since the DPP came to power in 2016, Beijing has increased military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan to deter what it says are pro-independence forces on the island, particularly after William Lai Ching-te became Taiwan’s leader last year.
Beijing has repeatedly accused Lai of being a “separatist” and “troublemaker”.
Taiwan’s United Daily News quoted Chiang on Wednesday as saying that if the forum were cancelled, “the message conveyed would make everyone more pessimistic about cross-strait relations”.
United Daily News also reported that this year’s forum had originally been scheduled for September but was postponed because Taiwan had not completed its review of memorandums of understanding (MOU) that were expected to be signed at the event.
Taiwanese media said the two cities would sign MOUs on water management and vocational training during the forum.
Representatives from both cities would exchange views on topics including “technology and healthcare, rail transit, and health and elderly care”, Xinhua reported.
Chen Binhua, spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that Taipei and Shanghai had “maintained communication” regarding the forum’s organisation, adding that Beijing “consistently supports exchanges and cooperation across all fields, including cross-strait city-to-city interactions”.
In December last year, Shanghai vice-mayor Hua Yuan led a delegation to the forum in Taipei, staying for less than two days in what was the first visit to the island by a senior official from the city in six years.


The Shanghai-Taipei City Forum, which began in 2010, is attended by senior officials from both sides, with the aim of deepening exchanges and cooperation.
However, the two official delegations have not always been of an equal administrative level, prompting criticism from DPP lawmakers.
Shanghai’s mayor has attended all the forums held on the mainland financial centre.
But Han Zheng is the only mayor to have also attended the Taipei event, doing so for its launch in 2010.
Han is now mainland China’s vice-president.
Other forums held in Taiwan were attended by a delegation led by one of Shanghai’s vice-mayors.
All forums held in both Shanghai and Taipei have been attended by the mayor of Taipei, including former holders of the office Ko Wen-je and Hau Lung-pin.


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Mainland Affairs Council says it must be told of any deviation from itinerary and delegation must gain approval before signing agreements


Mainland Affairs Council says it must be told of any deviation from itinerary and delegation must gain approval before signing agreements.


Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an to attend annual forum in Shanghai under Taiwan’s watch

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mainland Affairs Council says it must be told of any deviation from itinerary and delegation must gain approval before signing agreements

Mainland Affairs Council says it must be told of any deviation from itinerary and delegation must gain approval before signing agreements