TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an embarked on an official visit to Singapore on July 5 to discuss bilingual education, digitalization, and urban development.
The visit also aims at fostering mutual learning and collaboration between Taipei City and Singapore.
Accompanied by a delegation from the Taipei City government and Taipei City Councilor Chen Yi-Jun of the Democratic Progressive Party, Mayor Chiang Wan-an's visit attracted attention due to the undisclosed nature of his itinerary.
Critics speculated about the possibility of secret diplomacy as Mayor Chiang was reportedly absent during some scheduled activities.
Responding to speculations, Taipei City government spokesperson Yin Wei explained that Mayor Chiang has many close and old friends in Singapore.
He stressed that the visit serves the purpose of both reconnecting with old acquaintances and respecting the arrangements made by the Singaporean side.
In the afternoon of July 7, Singapore's Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing confirmed through a Facebook post that he met with Mayor Chiang.
They discussed topics such as bilingual education in schools, digitalization, and urban development. Mayor Chiang expressed his gratitude for the meeting and the meaningful discussions, noting that his visit to Singapore had been productive and educational on several policy issues.
Mayor Chiang Wan-an is expected to visit the Newton Food Centre before returning to Taipei on Saturday morning. The Newton Food Centre, known for its diverse range of Chinese, Malay, and Indian cuisines, is one of Singapore's renowned hawker centers and represents the local hawker culture.
Singapore's hawker culture was recognized as part of the World Intangible Cultural Heritage at the end of 2020.