Taipei City Government

Presided over by Taipei Mayor Wen-je Ko and New Taipei Deputy Mayor Chun-ching Chen, the 2019 mayor meeting for the Taipei-New Taipei Collaboration and Exchanges Platform (hereinafter referred to as “the Taipei-New Taipei Platform”) was held in the New Taipei Municipal Jui-Fang Industrial High School today (February 23, 2019).  
Since 2015, the Taipei-New Taipei Platform has successfully initiated 122 collaborative projects to tackle issues concerning 700 million residents in the two cities. In addition, it attempts to integrate resources and solve problems. Up till today, 95 projects have been completed and 25 are in progress, including prominent ones such as the Taipei Metro All Pass Ticket (monthly pass) , the sharing of Feitsui Reservoir, cross-district response mechanism for mass casualty, etc. 
Mayor Ko presented a 2-day Taipei Fun Pass and a set of Taipei Travel Mugs to Deputy Mayor Chen. For New Taipei delegates are the limited-edition EasyCard-Sparkling Precious Piggy and souvenirs of Taipei Azalea Festival 2019. He also heartily invited the department heads of New Taipei City Government and citizens to visit Tokyo Disney Resort’s 35th anniversary Parade at the Taipei Lantern Festival on February 24, the CKS Shilin Residence Tulip Show, Yangminshan Flower Festival, and the Taipei Azalea Festival 2019, kicking off on March 14. He noted such participation creates large quantities of small spending, which helps economic growth of Taipei and New Taipei. 
He remarked that in a mature democracy, professionalism ensures a city’s long-term development not to be interrupted by the administration and personnel changes. Therefore, he worked with New Taipei City Government in his first term to institutionalize many collaborative projects through the Taipei-New Taipei Platform. Some examples are completed projectes like the sharing of Feitsui Reservoir, the lead pipe replacement, monthly passes for public transportation, one library card for all Taipei and New Taipei public libraries, collaboration on funeral and cremation facilities, cross-district support for disaster notification, etc.; projects in progress like bike lanes on cross-city bridges, expansion of Taipei Metro System, Feitsui Reservoir water intake pipes, integration of long-term care resources, etc. The collaboration of Taipei and New Taipei has been successful on many aspects, including transportation, industrial and economic development, environment and resources, urban development, education, disaster prevention, health and welfare, tourism and cultural creativity, and son on. 
Two governments reached a consensus about 8 new projects in the meeting, namely “the first-stage operation of Taipei Metro Circular Line,”  “International Forum on Smart City and Industrial Trends,” “establishment of the notification mechanism for unqualified agricultural products of wholesale markets in Taipei and New Taipei City,” “Taipei friendly stores,” “the cooperation on handling the cases of pet food not meeting pathogenic microorganism and harmful substance standards,” “Astronomical Museum on the Go!,” “the response mechanism and information integration of mass casualty,” “the experience exchanges on teaching self-rescue in the initial stage of a fire and fire evacuation drill at hospital, long-term care institutes, nursing homes, and public daycares,” etc. Mayor Ko also commented on the unsatisfying progress of a few projects, such as “cost sharing on the land acquisition of Linkou District Park,” “Feitsui Reservoir water intake pipes,” “experiences sharing on building capacity transfer,” etc. He promised to urge the departments of Taipei City Government in charge to proactively follow up the progress.  
New Taipei City Government arranged for the meeting participants to tour the Shen’ao rail bike route. Taipei and New Taipei mayors and all delegates rode the bikes and enjoyed the lovely view of the North Coast. They also took the opportunity to share ideas and experiences. 
The Taipei-New Taipei Platform will continue to push for more collaboration and make related arrangements, including one mayor meeting and two deputy mayor meetings every year. Always bearing 700 million residents in mind and to create prosperity for both cities, it is committed to deepen the collaboration and exchanges to build a more convenient and prosperous future.