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An agreement has been reached to freeze the budget for this year's Taipei-Shanghai City Forum in the event of continued incursions by Chinese warplanes into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.
A cross-party discussion about the USD 46,890 budget earmarked for the annual event finally concluded on Monday (Jan. 24) after six days. Camps considered to lean towards Beijing, including Kuomintang (KMT) and New Party city councillors, at last, gave their consent to freezing the funds if Chinese warships and military planes continue their provocative manoeuvres in waters and air space near Taiwan. Earlier, launched in 2010, the Taipei-Shanghai City Forum is the only official channel remaining between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Further, bilateral relations have soured since President Tsai Ing-wen took power in 2016 in Taiwan, as reported by Taiwan News. Despite that, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je has urged both sides to maintain a line of communication despite disputes, but the event was reduced to city level exchanges last year after Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council warned it to focus only on "non-political affairs," as reported by Taiwan News. (ANI)
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