MAC: Beijing Need Not Rush to Criticize Call to Halt Taipei-Shanghai Forum

(CNA, Taipei, 21st, by reporter Li Ya-wen) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Poyang argued that the Taipei-Shanghai City Forum offers extremely low benefits and should not be held, drawing criticism from China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) for "undermining cross-strait cooperation and exchange." In response, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) stated that the forum is a municipal issue, not a cross-strait one, and the mainland side need not rush to criticize. The Mainland Affairs Council held its regular press conference this afternoon, hosted by Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh. Liang stated that the Taipei-Shanghai City Forum is a municipal issue for Taipei City, not a cross-strait issue. If the Taipei City Government believes it can obtain information or experience from exchanges with Shanghai that benefit Taipei's urban governance and development, then it is a municipal issue for Taipei. He added that Taipei has 53 sister cities worldwide and frequently engages in exchanges with them, all of which, including the Taipei-Shanghai City Forum, are municipal matters for Taipei. Liang mentioned that the Taipei City Government applies for forum-related activities according to regulations, and government agencies review them and provide reminders on certain matters. When approving the forum's activities, the government never judges whether it is helpful or beneficial for cross-strait relations, as it is purely a municipal issue. "We are just a reviewing authority," he said. He further stated that if Shen Poyang were to become the mayor of Taipei and believe that holding the forum is useless for Taipei's governance, that would also be Taipei City's affair. It has no connection to cross-strait issues, so the other side need not be in a hurry to criticize anything. On the 14th, Shen Poyang mentioned in a media interview that the forum has extremely low benefits and "things without benefits shouldn't be done." Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, stated at a regular press conference on the 20th that the forum has been held for 16 consecutive years and has achieved fruitful results. She added, "Diehard Taiwan independence separatist Shen Poyang is accustomed to spreading rumors, slandering, and attacking and undermining cross-strait exchanges and cooperation. His malicious actions will surely be despised."