Five Chinese cities that were invited to an international forum hosted by the Kaohsiung City Government are unlikely to attend the event, which starts today, a city official said yesterday.
Kaohsiung Economic Development Bureau Director Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said invitations were sent in June to Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Fuzhou and Tianjin for the three-day Global Harbor Cities Forum, but they have not responded.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said that city-to-city exchanges between Taiwan and China would be conducive to the development of cross-strait relations and it was regrettable that the five cities had not responded to the invitations.
Kaohsiung remains open to communication and exchanges with China, Chen said, adding that she had visited China twice — in 2009 and 2013.
Positive development of cross-strait ties can only be achieved through exchanges and interaction, Chen said, adding that she would not pass up any opportunities to continue such exchanges.
On the question of whether Kaohsiung was being targeted in view of the fact that Shanghai representatives participated in a twin city forum in Taipei last month, Chen told reporters she was disappointed that the five Chinese cities had not responded to Kaohsiung’s invitation.
Forty-four cities in 24 nations have confirmed their attendance at the forum, which will cover issues such as industrial transformation, marine tourism and sustainable development, Kaohsiung City Government officials said.
The delegates include Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk from Australia; Panama City Mayor Jose Blandon; Medan Mayor Dzulmi Eldin from Indonesia; Melvin Holden, mayor-president of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana; Callao Mayor Juan Sotomayor Garcia of Peru; and Male City Mayor Mohamed Shihab of the Maldives, the officials said.
The Kaohsiung City Government said it expects to sign several agreements at the forum with representatives from Vietnam, Panama City and Selangor in Malaysia.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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