Taipei City Government

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-Je attended the 4th Asian Councils Forum (ACF), 2019 Global Councils Forum (GCF), and Taiwan Local Councils Representatives Community Forum (TCF) annual congress on December 7, which saw the participation of more than 70 delegates from various countries amid a bustling and stirring atmosphere.

Ko welcomed 70 delegates from 8 countries to Taipei, Taiwan; during his speech, he mentioned that the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tip O’Neill once said: “All politics is local”. He went on to welcome council leaders from across the globe to visit Taipei on behalf of 2.7 million Taipei citizens and as the Mayor of Taipei City.

The mayor pointed out that the central/local government and council alliances in the world can be divided into 4 major components:
Component 1: United Nations (UN), which is formed by the central government of various countries.
Component 2: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) formed by the councilors of central councils in different countries.
Component 3: United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) formed by local governments throughout the world.
He remarked that Taiwan is unable to join the UN or IPU, but Taipei is a member of UCLG and an executive bureau member.
As for component 4, due to the lack of a world alliance for local councilors worldwide, Taipei City Council has strived to realize this vision. After founding the TCF in 2010, Taipei City has been vigorously promoting an alliance for local councilors worldwide; a meeting was convened in Taipei in 2014, and the ACF was founded in 2015, which held its first 3 annual congresses in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. The 4th ACF annual congress will be convened this year.

This year, besides inviting local councilors from different Asian nations to explore the theme of Open Era & Local Revitalization, councilors from Europe and the US were once again invited to contemplate ways to establish an alliance for local councilors around the world.

Mayor Ko said that the annual congress for TCF and the 4th ACF is held today in hopes of building on their foundations to continue advancing the GCF. Next, he mentioned that Taipei City Government will endeavor to support the meaningful event; most importantly, he welcomed everyone to visit Taipei because it is the friendliest city in the world, and he wished international travelers a pleasant journey.