Secretariat, Taipei City Government

On March 5, 2024, Representative Maya Yaron from the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO) visited Mayor Wan-an Chiang and his team at Taipei City Hall to engage in an exchange about city administration issues relating to education, industry, smart city, transportation, and culture.

Mayor Chiang kicked off the event by voicing his goal of transforming Taipei City into “a city of safety, a city of sports, and a city of the future” and his desire for closer relations between Taipei and Israel in education, culture, innovation, and sports. The core pillars of “a city of the future” are being an “AI-driven smart city” and a “founder friendly city.” Israel has the fifth-largest technological innovation ecosystem and the highest density of startups and venture capital in the world, and Taipei looks forward to partnering with Israel in these fields. The ongoing pen pal project between Taipei and Israel is also expected to strengthen cultural exchanges between the two. The city of Haifa in Israel is a six-time participant in the Taipei International Dragon Boat Championships, and Taipei City has previously gifted Haifa two dragon boats and a full set of paddles. After learning that other Israeli cities also have dragon boat teams, Mayor Chiang suggested that those cities should sign up for the championship. Both Taipei City and New Taipei City will be holding the World Masters Games in 2025, which is open to anyone over the age of 30, and Israelis are welcome to travel to Taiwan to attend the event. 

Representative Yaron recalled that she first met Chiang back in September 2023 when she attended the Confucius Day Commemoration Ceremony at the Confucius Temple; since then, she has been actively thinking about how to strengthen exchanges between Israel and Taipei; however, the war with Hamas has derailed these efforts, and although the current situation is reasonably stable, the Israeli government is still focused on the safe return of 130 Israelis currently held hostage. On the topic of municipal exchanges, Representative Yaron expressed a desire for pragmatic exchanges and for expanding the scope of the Israel–Taipei partnership to include educational technology, smart city, smart medical care, short-term youth internship, and the Door to Anywhere Project. Representative Yaron also praised Taipei City for subsidizing the installation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (commonly referred to as ADAS) in city buses, and she recommended the inclusion of large goods vehicles in the ADAS network to improve road safety. Representative Yaron also stated that the ISECO will help promote the 2025 World Masters Games, which will be hosted by Taipei City and New Taipei City, and she extended an invitation to Mayor Chiang to visit Israel.

Before the end of the visit, Representative Yaron gifted Mayor Chiang a cactus night light from a Israeli design brand—the spiky plant is a metaphor for Israelis, hard to approach on the outside because of its prickly exterior but soft on the inside. Mayor Chiang returned the gesture with a 2025 Taipei–New Taipei World Masters Game gift box, which included baozhong tea leaves from Taipei City and two emblazoned teacups, while wishing for a peaceful end to the conflict in Gaza and a return to normality.