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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Elections & Politics

Chiang Wan-an Goes to Singapore for Award, Faces Criticism Over City Hall's Press Release

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an is traveling to Singapore to accept the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Special Award.
  • Critics accuse the city government of misrepresenting the award's criteria in its press release, focusing heavily on Chiang's tenure while downplaying achievements of previous mayors.
  • The award recognizes long-term urban development and resilience, with achievements spanning over a decade, including public transport and recycling initiatives.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an is set to travel to Singapore to receive the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Special Award, but his administration faces accusations of political maneuvering. A review of the city government's March 24 press release announcing the award revealed a strong emphasis on Chiang's policy achievements during his relatively short term as mayor.

Thank you to past mayors, the city government team, all citizens, and all civil servants for today's achievements.

— Chiang Wan-anSpeaking at the airport before departing for Singapore.

However, comparisons with the official award website show that the prize also acknowledges significant contributions from previous mayors, including Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou, and Ko Wen-je. Councilwoman Yan Ruo-fang criticized the city's press release for "playing word games" and engaging in "harvesting the crops of others," suggesting a "poorly disguised" attempt to claim credit for long-term successes.

The city government's press release reveals the Chiang administration's narrow perspective and Mayor Chiang's nature as a 'mayoral policy harvester.' It distorts international honor into personal political propaganda.

— Yan Ruo-fangCriticizing the city government's press release about the award.

The award's official citation highlights "long-term accumulated" governance achievements, specifically mentioning the Zhongshan Linear Park, participatory budgeting, the MRT network, the YouBike system, and "garbage-free" initiatives and recycling programs. These are described as the culmination of over a decade, and in some cases two decades, of effort by former mayors and countless civil servants.

The official website praises 'long-term accumulated' governance, listing key factors for Taipei's award, including Zhongshan Linear Park, participatory budgeting, the 131.1 km MRT network, the YouBike system, and 'garbage-free' initiatives and recycling.

— Yan Ruo-fangQuoting and interpreting the award's official criteria.

Yan questioned how policies implemented within the last two years of Chiang's tenure, such as the "Good Pregnancy Express" service, "Cool AI," and the "Big Dome Economy," could be considered core reasons for an award that requires "over ten years of mature governance." She argued that the city's progress is a relay race, not the result of a single individual's efforts, and that the press release disrespects the contributions of those who laid the groundwork.

How can policies promoted for less than two years be the core reason for this award's 'over ten years of long-term governance' standard?

— Yan Ruo-fangQuestioning the relevance of recent policies to the award's criteria.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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