Delegates of Taiwan Councilors Forum Visits Maldives for Exchange! Maldives councilors praise Taiwan’s shared bicycle program for promoting low-carbon tourism.

The delegation organized by the Taiwan Councilors Forum (TCF) arrived in Maldives on November 11th after participating in the Asian Councils Forum’s (ACF) annual conference. Led by TCF Chairman and New Taipei City Councilor Wei-Yuan Wang, Founding and Honorary Chairman, former Taipei City Councilor Chin Chang Lin, and Director of TCF and Taipei City Councilor Tsai-Wei Liu, the delegation departed for the Maldives on November 6. Other delegates included Taoyuan City Councilor Chen-Yao Chu, New Taipei City Councilors Nikar Falong and Mei-Feng Liu, Taipei City Councilors Wei Keng and Shu-Hui Yu, and Pei-Chun Chung. This year’s ACF conference, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Program in Maldives, brought together delegates from Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, along with representatives from the Maldives Local Councils’ Association (MLCA) to discuss and share experiences on this year’s conference theme “Sustainable Tourism, Water Resources and Waste Management, Island Tourism and Community Development." Maldives’ delegates expressed their particular interest in Taiwan’s shared bicycle program, exploring how it can contribute to sustainable island tourism by adding various slow-living elements to deal with challenges encountered by promoting low-carbon tourism in protected biosphere reserves.

On the other hand, Taiwanese delegates observed Maldives' proactive approach toward sustainable, low-carbon development and ecological conservation. They reflected on Taiwan's issues, such as algae reef protection, coral conservation in the Hengchun Peninsula and Green Island, and promoting awareness of sustainable tourism. They also recognized the need and potential for collaboration between central and local governments to network with the international community.

TCF Chairman Wei-Yuan Wang, representing the TCF delegation, made some remarks before Founding and Honorary Chairman Chin Chang Lin introduced the origins and development of the Taiwan Councilors Forum, Asian Councilors Forum, and Global Councilors Forum. In the session of international presentations, Councilors Pei-Chun Chung, Tsai-Wei Liu, and Wei Keng shared Taipei City’s experience in promoting local tourism through sustainable tourism, low-carbon tourism, and live music events. After these presentations, the Maldivian councilors were very interested in and asked questions on issues such as how the authorities of promoting local tourism are allocated between Taiwanese central and local governments, the policy roles that Taiwanese councilors can play to promote regional tourism, and the challenges of promoting local tourism in Taiwan.

Councilors Mei-Feng Liu and Chen-Yao Chu represented the TCF delegation to participate in the panel discussion titled “Sustainable Tourism and Local Governance: Balancing Growth and Community Well-being.” Based on the experiences of New Taipei City and Taoyuan City, they shared insights and recommendations on the topics raised by the moderator. They responded to questions from attendees during the Q&A session. Councilor Mei-Feng Liu shared how New Taipei City developed local tourism through participatory budgeting, online citizen engagement platforms, and social media to gather public input. She also offered her thoughts on developing local tourism in Maldives. In addition to Councilor Liu’s ideas, Councilor Chen-Yao Chu further emphasized the importance of integrating diverse local needs and improving local officials’ ability to communicate with the public.

In the presentation given by Councilor Yoshiyuki Kuriyama, Vice President of the Japan Local Councilors’ Association (JLCA), the TCF delegation learned about Japan’s successful experience in making and implementing policies to recycle adult diapers to address the waste problem caused by an aging population. Mr. Marion Marcos, Director of the Policy Advocacy Department of the Philippine Local Councilors’ League (PCL), shared the implementation and outcomes of their ongoing local councilor education and training programs, noting that education initiatives play a key role in achieving sustainable development and environmental sustainability. In the ACF’s chief representatives’ meeting, it was decided that JLCA will host the next ACF annual conference in Fukuoka in the fourth quarter of 2025, with expanded invitations expected for representatives from Sri Lanka, South Korea, Tuvalu, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Palau, and Mongolia.