Secretariat, Taipei City Government

On February 4, Mayor Chiang received a delegation led by Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius. The delegation included two Advisors to the Mayor, Karolis Žukauskas and Kipras Krasauskas, and it was accompanied by Aušra Andriuškaitė, Chairwoman of the Lithuanian community in Taiwan. In addition to visiting the Taipei City Government, the delegation also visited the Taipei Urban Intelligence Center and attended the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taipei. This was Mayor Šimašius’ first visit to Taiwan.

During the meeting, Mayor Chiang highlighted that Vilnius has been a sister city of Taipei since 1998. He also pointed out that despite their geographic distance, the 25 years of exchanges between the two cities have cemented their close friendship. He further indicated that, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the world in the past two years, the relations between Taiwan and Lithuania have become increasingly close. Mayor Chang expressed confidence that collaborations between Taiwan and Lithuania will continue to grow and that the mutual establishment of representative offices will greatly enhance the awareness of Taiwan in Lithuania and that of Lithuania in Taiwan.

Mayor Šimašius first congratulated Mayor Chang for winning the recent election. He also reaffirmed the growing closeness between the two countries and expressed his hope of strengthening the long-lasting sisterhood between Vilnius and Taipei City. Mayor Šimašius was particularly impressed by Taipei City’s efforts to transform itself into a smart city, and he expressed his regret for not being able to attend last year’s Smart City Summit in person. Upon hearing that, Mayor Chang invited Mayor Šimašius to visit Taipei again in March 2023 to attend the 2023 Smart City Summit & Expo.

Subsequently, the mayors exchanged opinions on collaborations in various fields, including the financial technology and innovative industries. Finally, Mayor Chang advised Mayor Šimašius to experience first-hand the beauty and vitality of Taipei and the friendliness and enthusiasm of Taiwanese people through attending the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taipei. Mayor Šimašius reciprocated by inviting Mayor Chang to visit Vilnius, which is celebrating its 700th anniversary this year. On behalf of Mayor Chang, Secretary General Lee Tai-Hsin invited the delegation to lunch to engage in further discussions and dialogue on affairs concerning collaborations between the two cities.

Vilnius is the capital and the political, economic, and cultural center of Lithuania, a country by the Baltic Sea. It was nominated as the European Capital of Culture in 2009, and its old town was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Vilnius has been actively restoring its historic buildings to provide its citizens with more access to Lithuanian history and culture. The city has a comprehensive public transportation system with a trackless trolley network that has been lauded as the best in Central Europe.