Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday returned to Taiwan from a four-day visit to Singapore and said his visit helped improve Taipei’s administration.
Chiang made his first foreign visit as Taipei Mayor to Singapore on Wednesday, and returned to Taiwan yesterday morning.
At the airport upon arrival, he said the visit went very smoothly and the delegation learned a lot from it, including the design of the indoor vertical forest inside the terminal shopping mall in Jewel Changi Airport, and Singaporean Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment’s Singapore Green Plan 2030.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
They also visited the Singaporean Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB), and learned about the country’s long-term plan and implementation of its Home Ownership Scheme, as well as visited the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to learn about Singapore’s plans for autonomous vehicles and traffic designs for reducing accidents by elderly drivers, he said.
Chiang said he was impressed by the Singaporean government’s strong planning ability, cross-ministerial cooperation and determined execution ability, and that there are many elements that Taipei can reference and use to improve its administration.
However, a city councilor questioned whether Chiang was engaged in secret diplomacy, and said he should explain to the public where he went and who he met with during the visit.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chen E-jun (陳怡君), who joined the delegation on the Singapore visit, said Chiang had “disappeared” three times during the four-day visit.
She asked why the mayor was not present during a planned dinner on the first day, a visit to a garden in the morning of the third day and arrived late to a lunch meeting on the third day, and asked whether he was engaged in secret diplomacy.
Chiang yesterday said he is very grateful for the Singaporean government’s careful arrangements and hospitality, and that “a guest should suit the convenience of the host” and the Singapore side was very welcoming, adding he was able to see many old friends and meet many new ones.
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