Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Taipei City Mayor Wan-An Chiang met with Teow Lee Foo, the newly appointed Representative of the Singapore Trade Office in Taipei at Taipei City Hall on February 9. The two held discussions on city-to-city exchanges, the startup sector, cultural and creative industries, and educational cooperation. Mayor Chiang welcomed Representative Foo to her new post and expressed his hope that Taipei and Singapore would strengthen exchanges and cooperation on urban transformation.

Mayor Chiang noted that his first overseas visit after taking office was to Singapore, and that he was deeply impressed by the city’s urban planning. Mayor Chiang was particularly inspired by Singapore’s Silver Zone policy, which provided a model for the traffic-friendly pilot zone in Daxue Village that has gradually been expanded to other districts across Taipei City. This initiative has decreased the number of traffic accidents and enhanced the experience of pedestrians, demonstrating the tangible benefits of Mayor Chiang’s learning from Singapore.

Mayor Chiang also expressed special thanks to Singapore for its long-standing invitations to participate in the World Cities Summit, a major platform for international exchanges. Representative Foo conveyed the regards of Hong Tat Chee, Singapore’s Minister of National Development, to Mayor Chiang, and extended his invitation to Mayor Chiang to attend the World Cities Summit. Mayor Chiang responded that if his schedule permitted, he would attend this year’s World Cities Summit.

Representative Foo remarked that although she had been in Taiwan for only four weeks, she had already found Taipei to be as warm and welcoming as her hometown. She observed that Taipei’s modernization has preserved its traditional culture, something from which Singapore can learn. Representative Foo also expressed her hope to learn from Taipei City’s cultural and creative design industries as Singapore plans a museum.

Representative Foo also stated that Singapore was highly interested in Taipei’s dynamic startup ecosystem, and that she looked forward to strengthening connections between both cities’ startup communities. She also expressed her hope for deeper cooperation in Chinese-language education. Mayor Chiang replied that Taipei City was currently promoting the Global Pass entrepreneur program with several international cities such as Singapore; the program enables startup teams to engage in mutual exchanges.

Additionally, Mayor Chiang commented that Taipei City welcomed reciprocal exchanges of Chinese and English teaching staff with Singapore to cultivate talent.

After the meeting, Mayor Chiang presented Representative Foo with a deluxe gift box and signed spring couplets. He also introduced Dadaocheng as Taipei’s former commercial center, noting that Dihua Street remains the city’s best-preserved historic district. With the Lunar New Year approaching, Mayor Chiang recommended that Representative Foo visit Dihua Street’s bustling New Year Market to experience the warmth of Taipei’s residents and their festive traditional celebrations. He expressed his hope that through exchanges across various fields, the friendship between Taipei and Singapore would continue to grow.