TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) emphasized on Friday (Feb. 7) the need for communication after the city's invitation to a Shanghai delegation for the Taipei Lantern Festival (台北燈節) was rejected by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會).
The Taipei City Government, following a long-standing tradition, invited two Shanghai delegations, which were both met with rejection by the MAC. The first delegation, led by Jin Mei (金梅), director of the Shanghai Taiwan Affairs Office (上海台辦), was originally scheduled to arrive on the opening day of the festival.
The second consists of a seven-member team led by Jin Lei (金雷), deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism (上海市文旅局). originally scheduled to arrive next Tuesday.
The MAC explained that the Shanghai delegation's itinerary involved tourism activities, which should first be coordinated between the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (台灣海峽兩岸觀光旅遊協會) and the Association For Tourism Exchange Across The Taiwan Straits (海峽兩岸旅遊交流協會) before resubmitting their application.
Chiang expressed regret over the rejection at a press event for the World Masters Games 2025 (2025雙北世界壯年運動會), noting this year's break from tradition. Academia Sinica (中研院) academician Yang Rur-bin (楊儒賓) on Wednesday also urged courageous dialogue to find better solutions for cross-strait relations and advocated for open communication channels.
