Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday criticized a move by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to apply to the UN for Taipei to be listed as a city of gastronomy, saying the plan was not feasible without Chinese support.
Earlier this month, Hau said the city government would apply for UNESCO to list Taipei as a city of gastronomy because of its diverse food culture, adding that the city government would budget NT$7 million (US$240,000) to apply for the listing.
Challenging the city government’s plan, DPP Taipei City councilors Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) and Liang Wen-jie (梁文傑) said that as a non-UN member, no city in Taiwan was qualified to apply to UNESCO for inclusion in the program.
“What title would Taipei City use when applying to UNESCO [for the listing]? Would the city government damage national dignity in the application process? Mayor Hau and the city government should explain its plan more clearly,” Wu said in a press conference at Taipei City Council.
Wu said UNESCO had launched a project called Creative Cities Network in 2004 to promote the development of literature, design, gastronomy and the film industry in cities around the world.
When a city applied to be listed in the project, UNESCO would send the application to the UNESCO National Committee of the country where that city is located to be approved, Wu said. For example, when Chengdu, Sichuan Province, applied to be listed as a city of gastronomy, the application was approved by the UNESCO office in China.
“Taiwan is not a UN member, so Taipei City is not qualified to apply to be listed in the project. For Taipei to be listed as a city of gastronomy, it needs support from China, which gives China another opportunity to claim sovereignty over Taiwan,” Wu said.
Liang challenged the Hau team’s motivation behind the plan, saying the city government should explain the application process.
Taipei City Office of Commerce Director Liu Chug-chun (劉佳均) yesterday said that the UN project accepted applications from cities, not nations, adding that the city government would use the title “Taipei City.”
“If there is any controversy regarding sovereignty in the process, the city government will prioritize national dignity,” he said.
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