Heads of six special municipalities speak with new Cabinet

Heads of six special municipalities speak with new Cabinet

2023-02-02

The heads of Taiwan’s six special municipalities on Thursday attended a meeting at the Executive Yuan for the first time in more than three years of COVID. DPP and KMT mayors spoke for two and a half hours, saying that they were glad to have the opportunity to communicate with each other and the central government. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che says the occasion marked a good start for the Cabinet led by Premier Chen Chien-jen.

New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih and Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan chat as they march along with the mayors of the other five special municipalities. One by one, they answered questions from reporters.

Lu Shiow-yen
Taichung mayor
I think Premier Chen’s performance today was more earnest than I had anticipated. He was very patient and paid close attention to our opinions.

Hou Yu-ih
New Taipei mayor
When we came out, I told Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan, “You’re the contact person now. We’ll be working a lot together in the future.”

Cheng Wen-tsan
Vice premier
We hope that the central and local governments can work together, across party lines. With plentiful communication, we can solve problems quickly.

The government officials were in high spirits, and even spent time after the meeting having refreshments together. All in all, they chatted for two and a half hours. The meeting was Chen Chien-jen’s first as head of the Executive Yuan, and was intended to be an icebreaker with the heads of Taiwan’s six special municipalities. Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen brought a gift for Chen--an invitation to watch the World Baseball Classic starting next month.

Lu Shiow-yen
Taichung mayor
Premier Chen was very happy to receive my invite. I hope he comes.

Chiang Wan-an
Taipei mayor
We are really looking forward to the central government making good on its promises regarding the monthly transport pass for the Greater Taipei area. I hope they can integrate the means of transport operated by the central government and provide the financial support needed. I’m very thankful for the positive response from the premier and the different ministers.

Chen Chi-mai
Kaohsiung mayor
I think having a structured communication channel can be very beneficial to promoting national infrastructure projects and the development of local industries.

Huang Wei-che
Tainan mayor
Over the past more than three years of COVID, we haven’t really had the chance to come to the Executive Yuan for talks. This is a fantastic first step.

Local leaders from both KMT and DPP seemed optimistic about the new Cabinet led by Chen, praising his attempts to communicate with all parties.

陳建仁首主持院會六都首長讚陳內閣溝通誠意十足

2023-02-02

行政院長陳建仁上任後，首次週四的例行政院會，邀請六都直轄市長列席，這也是疫情爆發兩年多來，六都首長再度列席行政院會，不分藍綠都大讚陳內閣展現十足的溝通誠意。

新北市長侯友宜和副院長鄭文燦兩個人有說有笑，其他五都市長一字排開，邊聊邊往前，走到媒體的鏡頭前受訪。

[[台中市長盧秀燕]]
“我個人覺得今天陳院長的表現比我預期的更有誠意，而且很有耐性，很仔細聆聽我們意見。”

[[新北市長侯友宜]]
“我出來是跟鄭文燦副院長說，不好意思，今天請你來當窗口，彼此之間更要合作”

[[行政院副院長鄭文燦]]
“主要是希望中央地方共好，無分藍綠，透過充分的溝通協調，快速解決問題”

看來院會的氣氛相當不錯，這次院會額外增加茶敘時間，一共暢聊了兩個半小時，這也是陳建仁上任後首度院會，事前主動釋善意，邀請六都市長參加，台中市長盧秀燕帶著伴手禮，世界棒球經典賽邀請函來親自邀請陳建仁參加。

[[台中市長盧秀燕]]
“陳院長很高興收到我的邀請函，我們也靜待佳音”

[[台北市長蔣萬安]]
“我們非常期待中央兌現(首都月票)承諾，盡快整合中央管轄交通運具，並且在財源上給予全力支持，很感謝院長以及各部會積極回應”

[[高雄市長陳其邁]]
“能夠把它形成一個制度性溝通管道，我覺得對於推動整體國家建設跟地方產業發展都非常有幫助”

[[台南市長黃偉哲]]
“這三年多因為疫情，大家沒辦法在院會溝通，這樣情況下有一個非常好的開始”

地方中央不分藍綠，一團和氣，六都首長大讚陳內閣，直言感受到溝通誠意，溫暖堅韌內閣不是說假的。

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On his fourth day leading a delegation in Taiwan, former U.S. Admiral Philip Davidson sat with President Tsai Ing-wen.

Tsai Ing-wen
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This delegation led by Mr. Davidson is the NBR’s first to Taiwan since the pandemic. I would like to extend my warmest welcome to you. During his term, Admiral Davidson watched security developments in the Taiwan Strait very closely. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, for your contributions to the security of the Taiwan Strait.

Philip Davidson
Former US admiral
Our discussions over the past few days have underscored Taiwan’s vibrant democracy and civil society, addressed the range of actions that the PRC takes toward Taiwan, and highlighted areas in which the U.S. and Taiwan can continue to foster and strengthen their relation.

Back in 2021, before retiring as head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Davidson had warned that China could attack Taiwan in the following six years, by 2027, capturing headlines around the world. Now, he’s taken the opportunity to visit Taiwan to gain an understanding of Taiwan’s response measures.

Philip Davidson
Retired US admiral
I’ve also been able to observe in this trip, the energy of Taipei, the ongoing construction, and the robustness of its industry. The spirit of the Taiwan Armed Forces, and the extraordinary kindness with which the people of Taiwan have greeted us.

Tsai Ing-wen
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In face of the expansion of authoritarianism, Taiwan must improve its self-defense capabilities in order to maintain national security. With determination and confidence, we can be more capable of defending our country. We are also extremely willing to continue to deepen our cooperation with the U.S. and other likeminded partners.

Tsai reiterated that Taiwan was committed to defending itself, showing Davidson that no matter how much pressure Beijing puts, Taiwan will not succumb.

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Tsai calls for open dialogue with Beijing at gathering of Taiwanese businesspeople

At a Spring Festival gathering in Taipei for Taiwanese businesspeople working in China, President Tsai Ing-wen gave a speech calling for open dialogue with Beijing, saying that the door for communication is wide open. Meanwhile, Taiwanese businesspeople urged for direct flights between China and Taiwan to fully resume.

President Tsai Ing-wen, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, and Straits Exchange Foundation acting chair Rock Hsu raise their glasses high and wish Taiwanese businesspeople a happy new year.

The annual Spring Festival gathering of Taiwanese businesspeople in China, which was suspended for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finally resumed this year. In Taipei, 30 tables were made up to seat more than 200 attendees to the event. President Tsai herself also gave a speech, sending a message not just to Taiwanese businesspeople, but also Beijing.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
I would like to emphasize again that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the responsibility of both sides of the strait and a shared expectation for all of us. I would like to reiterate that the door of communication is always open wide, and we are willing to start a dialogue with the Beijing authorities in a rational, equal, and mutually respectful manner to find feasible paths that are acceptable to both sides and promote regional peace and stability.

The president’s display of goodwill towards China was made just on the eve of the get-together. This comes at the same time as an announcement by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office that now is the time to resume normal cross-strait flights, and that priority could be given to 16 direct flight routes such as Taiwan to Guangzhou. Taiwanese business leaders attending the event also echoed the call for fully opening cross-strait flights as soon as possible.

Chai So-ling
Association of Taiwanese Investment Enterprises on the Mainland
Taiwanese businesspeople hope that the number of flight destinations in Taiwan can be substantially increased as soon as possible. I emphasize once again that this is probably what the 1.5 million holders of Mainland Travel Permits in China are looking forward to the most.

Chiu Tai-san
Mainland Affairs Council minister
We will write some assessment plans based on the current situation and submit them to the top for all relevant ministries to discuss.

It seems like no coincidence that the pressure from Taiwanese businesspeople toward Tsai comes as China pushes to resume cross-strait flights.

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Spotlight on Taiwanese artist Liu Chih-hung

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This is the largest ceramic installation at the exhibition, "Udu and the Tone." Created by Liu, the piece was inspired by a Nigerian percussion instrument, the udu. Liu spent over a year creating this work with a mixture of black clays, sand and gravel. The serpentine sculptures emit sounds from different cultures. Liu said he spent a year researching ceramics and clays and learning about folk instruments and sound resonance in cylindrical structures.

Liu Chih-hung
Artist
It’s a very traditional instrument from Nigeria called Udu. I tried to use the udu to make it different, like using sculpture ways, use ceramics, clay and using fire, and different types of clays and different temperatures of fire so it will have so many different kinds of tones.

There’s also this sculpture, “The Trap,” modeled after traditional fish traps. Traditionally made out of bamboo, Liu recreated his with clay to create his. It is shaped like drums and can be played like an instrument.

Liu Chih-hung
Artist
People usually use it to catch fishes in the river but it is usually made out of bamboo. I just used the shape and also used another kind of material like clay to make the shape of the trap. Also, you can see there is a snake inside the trap and also the bodies coiling together.

Born in Hsinchu, Liu has won several prestigious art awards ver the course of his artistic career. His works have been collected by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. His creations span a variety of mediums, including ceramic sculptures, paintings, images, installations, and even short films. During his art residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre in 2021, Liu became inspired to create a series of ceramic sound installations and sculptures that revolve around the theme of serpents. Through his works, he hopes to explore the relationship between sound, cultural symbols and objects.

Liu Chih-hung
Artist
I tried to use the icon, the snake or we call serpent, to make the connection with some ceremony or some ritual in different areas. Because sometimes use songs to say something to other people. I am very curious about it.

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