TAIPEI — On Tuesday (Dec 17), the mayor of Taiwan's capital expressed a desire for peace and called for a reduction in the "howls of ships and aircraft" around the island, emphasizing the importance of dialogue over confrontation during a meeting with visiting Chinese officials.

China, which considers Taiwan its territory, frequently sends warplanes and warships near the island, and held new large-scale military drills last week.

At the annual Taipei-Shanghai City Forum, attended by Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an used poetic language to express his wish for peace across the Taiwan Strait. He called for "more dialogue and less confrontation," adding, "More olive branches of peace and fewer sour grapes of conflict," and "more lights from fishing boats to adorn the sunset, and less of the howls of ships and aircraft."

Chiang, who is from Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang party, believes that difficult times require increased communication. Despite the forum, China continued sending military assets to the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan's defense ministry reported detecting 10 military aircraft and seven warships in the last 24 hours.

Chiang is seen as a potential future presidential candidate and is known for his party's traditionally supportive stance on closer ties with China, although the Kuomintang denies being pro-Beijing.

The forum, which began in 2010, remains one of the few high-level venues for communication between Chinese and Taiwanese officials, especially after China severed a regular dialogue mechanism with Taiwan's central government in 2016, following the election of President Tsai Ing-wen.

Tsai and her successor Lai Ching-te refuse to recognize Beijing’s "one China" policy and insist that Taiwan's future should be decided solely by its people.

Hua, speaking at the forum, expressed hopes for closer cooperation and referred to the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as "one family." He also announced that group tours to Taiwan from Shanghai would resume, offering an olive branch, as China has yet to fully reopen tourism to Taiwan after the pandemic.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council stated that allowing the forum to proceed was a sign of goodwill, despite the ongoing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters