Taipei mayor calls for 'peace and prosperity' at Shanghai forum

Shanghai, Dec. 28 (CNA) Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said he hopes the Taiwan Strait will come to be associated with "peace and prosperity," rather than "crashing waves and howling winds," during the Twin-City Forum in Shanghai on Sunday.

"I sincerely hope and earnestly call for a future in which, when people talk about the Taiwan Strait, what comes to mind is no longer crashing waves and howling winds, but peace and prosperity," Chiang said in his remarks at the main session of the 16th Taipei-Shanghai Twin-City Forum.

Chiang did not elaborate on what he meant by "crashing waves and howling winds," but his statement came amid heightened cross-strait tensions, with official communication between the two sides' central governments largely suspended.

Describing the broader environment as "turbulent," Chiang said he remains committed to the Twin-City Forum because he believes "engagement is better than estrangement, dialogue is better than confrontation, understanding is better than misunderstanding, and interaction is better than conflict."

It was Chiang's third time attending the forum as Taipei mayor, leading a delegation of 120 members. The event has been held annually since 2010, with Taipei and Shanghai alternating as host.

In 2023, Chiang led a delegation of more than 100 to Shanghai, while last year Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan (華源) led a 92-member delegation to Taipei.

In his remarks last year, Chiang called for "fewer roaring sounds from vessels and planes," without directly mentioning Chinese military activities around Taiwan.

As the host of this year's forum, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng (龔正) said the theme of the two-day event is "Technology Changing Lives," adding that the two cities have signed a total of 47 memorandums of understanding (MOU) on exchanges and cooperation over the past 15 years.

Exchanges between the two city governments during the forum could help promote "shared wins" in areas such as technology, urban governance and public safety, Gong said.

Such exchanges can also bring "a real sense of gain, happiness and security" to people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Gong said, adding that people across the strait are "bound by blood ties" and share "a common destiny."

During a meeting between the two mayors ahead of the forum's main session, Chiang said the two cities will sign new MOUs this year on areas including water management and vocational training.

Unlike in 2023, when he stayed in Shanghai for three days for the forum, Chiang this year attended only the main session on Sunday and is scheduled to return to Taiwan later in the day.

He told reporters on Wednesday that he cut his Shanghai trip short so he could oversee security arrangements for upcoming major events in Taipei -- such as New Year's Eve celebrations -- following the deadly knife attack on Dec. 19.