About 80 percent of Taipei city councilors have said they will not attend a welcoming banquet tonight for a Chinese delegation attending the Taipei-Shanghai City Forum.
The delegation, headed by Shanghai Municipal Committee United Front Work Department Director Sha Hailin (沙海林), is scheduled to arrive in Taipei today for the forum, which is to begin tomorrow.
A majority of Taipei’s 61 city councilors have refused to attend the banquet, hosted by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), in a show of disapproval over what they said is the downgrading of the city government’s importance given the absence of Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong (楊雄) and the “obvious ‘united front’ intention” behind Sha’s attendance.
The banquet is to be held at Taipei City Hall’s Yuan Fu Restaurant at 9pm. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Councilor Tung Chung-yan (童仲彥), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei city councilors Wang Hsin-yi (王欣儀), Tai Shi-chin (戴錫欽), Wang Chih-ping (汪志冰), Li Keng Kuei-fang (厲耿桂芳) and Chen Yung-te (陳永德), People First Party Taipei City councilors Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) and Lin Kuo-cheng (林國成), Republican Party Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shih-hsun (徐世勳) and independent Councilor Chen Cheng-chung (陳政忠) said they will attend.
DPP Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used all its resources to obstruct President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government since she took office on May 20, and now Ko is acting like Admiral Shi Lang (施琅), who betrayed Koxinga (鄭成功) and led a military attack against him in Taiwan in the 17th century.
“You are the Taipei mayor, but you are acting like the host of a matchmaking show,” Wang Shih-chien said, accusing Ko of introducing China’s “united front” work to Taiwan.
“The city government is already in a disastrous state and preparations for the Taipei Universiade 2017 seem to be collapsing, yet Ko is neglecting his duties and trying to befriend China,” Wang Shih-chien added.
Wang Shih-chien said Sha is not one of the eight deputy mayors of Shanghai and is only the 10th-most influential person in Shanghai, but Ko is the most influential person in Taipei and he should not be pleased about meeting a department director, because it is an insult to Taiwan’s dignity.
Tung, the only DPP Taipei city councilor who is planning to attend the banquet, said Ko has said that “the host must do as his guests wish,” so he is worried that Ko could be taken advantage of, adding that he is attending the event “to protect Ko.”
China’s “united front” work is a result of mixed feelings between the KMT and the CCP, he said, adding that the DPP is not afraid of the CCP, so he is not worried about people’s opinions over his attendance at the banquet.
Wang Hsin-yi said she would represent the public in welcoming exchanges between the two cities.
Additional reporting by Kuo Yi
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