New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) will lead the city’s government bureau to Singapore to learn about youth entrepreneurship and cultural creativity while fostering mutual exchanges. They plan to fly to Singapore on Wednesday and will stay for four days.
The mayor visited Singapore four years ago and says he wants to learn more about the country’s post-pandemic situation. The trip comes as the KMT plans to nominate its candidate for Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, and some wonder whether Hou will use the trip to discuss cross-strait issues with Singapore.
Hou says he wants to visit Nanyang Technological University's innovation base, as well as some of Singapore’s private and public sectors. He adds that these meetings will help him understand the country’s financial development, foreign enterprises, and job opportunities.
The mayor has recently come under scrutiny after a media worker said Hou offered him money in 2014 to run for city councilor in another district to avoid competing against each other. Hou denied both the allegation and the accusation that this upcoming trip is intentionally planned for him to avoid further questioning.