Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) Opposition Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chia-lung said Wednesday in Shanghai that Taiwan and China should focus on exchanges in the area of soft power development and city governance experiences, without involving sensitive political issues.

Lin, who doubles as chairman of the Taiwan Thinktank, said that from the perspective of urban competitiveness in the Asia-Pacific region, cross-Taiwan Strait exchanges in soft power development and city management experiences could improve mutual understanding.

China is interested in Taiwan's experiences in developing science parks while China's take on the 2010 World Expo is also worthy of note for Taiwan, Lin said at a forum on urban development and governance in the Asia-Pacific region.

He said the concept of city governance includes the issues of global warming and sustainable development, which are of interest to both sides of the strait, and also involves democratic supervisory mechanisms at the grassroots level, as well as human rights values.

Lin also addressed the issues of globalization, democratization and cross-strait regional cooperation and problems in today's urban development during the forum.

(By Wen Kuei-hsiang and Jamie Wang)
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