Want... Jason Hu, the former mayor of Taichung, said that it is not necessary for the nation to choose a side between mainland China and the United States, since Beijing and Washington are not playing a zero-sum game, during a seminar held by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, a non-profit organization based in Taipei on April 25.
Immediately after Hu, who also previously served as Taiwan's foreign minister, became the mayor of Taichung in 2001, he began to push for a normalized relationship between the city and mainland China. Eager for the city to benefit from the growth of China's economy, Hu was one of the very first incumbent mayors to visit Beijing in 2005. "As the head of a city, it was much easier for me to establish contacts in mainland China than as the head of a nation," said Hu. "The issue of Taiwan's sovereignty was not really a problem between me and the officials in Beijing."
Hu made several more trips to mainland China before his term as mayor of Taichung ended last year to promote the city's agricultural products and famous desserts such as suncakes. "In the beginning, I could only sell our products to China's coastal provinces," said Hu. "Later on, fruits and snacks from Taichung became popular in some parts of the Chinese interior as well." The former mayor encouraged his successor and mayors of other Taiwanese cities to explore new markets in inland China.
Another reason for Hu to promote cross-strait exchange with Beijing was to attract tourists from mainland China. The Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage Procession is currently the third largest religious event in the world. Hu spent US$3.9 million to construct a Matsu theme park at the port of Daan. This theme park helps Taichung to earn US$4.9 billion each year from followers of Mazu, a goddess in Chinese and Taiwanese folk religions who is considered the protector of fishermen in the region.
Other tourist spots such as Calligraphy Greenway, the National Museum of Natural Science and the Gaomei Wetlands in Taichung are now visited by tourists from around the world including many from mainland China. Taichung's legacy as the cultural center of Taiwan must be carried on by future mayors of the city and ordinary citizens to attract attention from different parts of the world, Hu said during the event.
Hu said that it is important for Taiwan to maintain a good relationship with the United States. "After all, the United States is still Taiwan's most important ally in the world," said Hu. Hu even asked journalists to be careful not to add "one of" in from of "most important" when quoting him. Hu said that China and the United States are not playing a zero-sum game and that it is not necessary for Taipei to choose a side between Beijing and Washington.