Five Chinese cities that were invited to an international forum hosted by the Kaohsiung City Government are unlikely to attend the event, which starts today, a city official said yesterday.
Kaohsiung Economic Development Bureau Director Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said invitations were sent in June to Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Fuzhou and Tianjin for the three-day Global Harbor Cities Forum, but they have not responded.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said that city-to-city exchanges between Taiwan and China would be conducive to the development of cross-strait relations and it was regrettable that the five cities had not responded to the invitations.
Kaohsiung remains open to communication and exchanges with China, Chen said, adding that she had visited China twice — in 2009 and 2013.
Positive development of cross-strait ties can only be achieved through exchanges and interaction, Chen said, adding that she would not pass up any opportunities to continue such exchanges.
On the question of whether Kaohsiung was being targeted in view of the fact that Shanghai representatives participated in a twin city forum in Taipei last month, Chen told reporters she was disappointed that the five Chinese cities had not responded to Kaohsiung’s invitation.
Forty-four cities in 24 nations have confirmed their attendance at the forum, which will cover issues such as industrial transformation, marine tourism and sustainable development, Kaohsiung City Government officials said.
The delegates include Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk from Australia; Panama City Mayor Jose Blandon; Medan Mayor Dzulmi Eldin from Indonesia; Melvin Holden, mayor-president of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana; Callao Mayor Juan Sotomayor Garcia of Peru; and Male City Mayor Mohamed Shihab of the Maldives, the officials said.
The Kaohsiung City Government said it expects to sign several agreements at the forum with representatives from Vietnam, Panama City and Selangor in Malaysia.
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