Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (right) and Zhong Xiaomin, head of the Shanghai municipal branch of the Taiwan Affairs Office. Photo courtesy of Taipei City government June 13, 2024

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) hosted Zhong Xiaomin (鍾曉敏), head of the Shanghai municipal branch of the Taiwan Affairs Office, at a closed-door meeting Thursday, according to city officials.

According to Taipei City government spokesperson Yin Wei (殷瑋), Chiang hosted a delegation of city officials from Shanghai led by Zhong for around 30 minutes.

Questioned by waiting reporters about how the meeting went, a smiling Zhong said briefly: “Very good, thank you for your concern,” before leaving.

The meeting is believed to have been held to discuss preparations for the annual Taipei-Shanghai twin-city forum.

The forum was launched in 2010 by then-Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), and the host city alternates between Taipei and Shanghai. This year, Taipei will play host to the event possibly to be held in late July or August.

Yin revealed that during the meeting, Chiang expressed gratitude for the hospitality that he received during his visit to Shanghai last time, while Zhong said that selfies Chiang took with Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng (龔正) and their interactions during the trip to the Chinese city left a deep impression on members of the public.

Chiang traveled to Shanghai for the twin-city forum in August 2023.

The exact time when this year’s forum will be held and whether Gong will come to Taiwan has not yet been decided, according to Yin, who said he will make it public if he receives the information.

Yin added that the twin-city forum has been around for many years and all visits to Taiwan by Chinese delegations are carried out in accordance with the law, regulations and practices.

He stressed that Taipei will host the event under the principles of equality, dignity, goodwill and reciprocity, adding that exchanges between cities are welcome under these principles.

Yin also said that the city government will continue to promote the dialogue platform because it is of great importance to Taipei and Shanghai and the two sides across the Taiwan Strait.

Under the platform, Taipei and Shanghai have signed 45 memorandums of understanding for cooperation in multiple areas, such as promoting exchanges in badminton competitions and dragon boat races, Yin added.