Taipei mayor compares democracy to spicy hot pot in Harvard speech

Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) described democracy as a "spicy hot pot" during a speech at Harvard University in the United States on Monday, saying the system is not perfect but rich and captivating.

"Democracy is like a spicy hot pot to people in Taipei," he said in English. The transcript of the speech was provided to reporters by the Taipei City government on Tuesday.

"It's not perfect. Its spices may make you sweat, but you keep coming back for more and if you dig in for more, you'll realize there is more in it," Chiang said, calling democracy the spirit of Taipei.

Democracy, along with freedom and the rule of law, also forms the cornerstone of sustainability and prosperity, he added in the speech titled "Global Taipei: Bridging Tradition and Innovation."

Asked by students to comment on the Taiwan-China relations and the progress in planning this year's Shanghai-Taipei City Forum, Chiang said that cross-strait dialogue should be conducted based on equality, respect, goodwill and mutual benefit.

"The more strained cross-strait relations become, the more important communication is," he said in Chinese.

Chiang is currently on a 10-day trip to the U.S. from Sept. 4-12 to promote Taipei and exchange experiences on city governance, his first since taking office in December 2022.

Before traveling to Boston on Sunday local time, the mayor visited New York, where he toured the New York Mets baseball team's home stadium Citi Field to see how it is managed and operated, according to the city government.

During his stay in Boston, Chiang also met with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and both sides pledged to increase exchanges, the city government said.

Chiang will next travel to Philadelphia, where he will visit the University of Pennsylvania and meet with Taiwanese students, before concluding the U.S. trip on Sept. 12 and returning to Taiwan from New York, the city government said.