Pai-hsiung Shen uses ocean currents to outline Taiwan's city governance network

In recent political discussions, the term ocean current has suddenly become a hot topic. Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Pao-yang interpreted the concept as representing the entirety of Taiwan. Shen pointed out that Taiwan is at a turning point in its social structure and governance needs, with public satisfaction with traditional administrative models gradually declining. He emphasized the urgent need for a governance approach that accommodates diverse voices and allows for flexible adjustments. This ocean current metaphor symbolizes new trends surging in like a tide, washing away rigid old systems and generating resonance across the entire island to foster policy reinvention and innovation.

The concept of the ocean current is not entirely new; it has long been discussed in academic and public policy circles, referring to cross-disciplinary and cross-city flows of information and resources. In the past, Taiwan's administrative system largely operated on a county and city basis, with each local government acting independently and lacking systematic, collaborative cooperation. Taking this as his starting point, Shen advocated utilizing a mechanism of inter-city exchanges to combine the strengths and offset the shortcomings of various localities. For instance, if northern technological innovation and southern agricultural resources could establish a complementary cooperative platform at the policy level, it would not only enhance overall competitiveness but also reduce resource waste and problems stemming from uneven regional development. Such thinking has seen preliminary experimentation in recent years through city alliance and smart city initiatives, and Shen hopes to institutionalize and implement these concepts within his Taipei mayoral campaign blueprint.

Within the political landscape of the Taipei mayoral election, the showdown between the Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang has persisted for years. Voters are focusing not only on the personal charisma of the candidates, but also on the feasibility and forward-looking nature of their governance philosophies. Shen's remarks aptly echoed young voters' expectations for new governance. According to recent polls, public satisfaction with municipal services among Taipei residents has shown a downward trend, particularly on issues such as transportation, housing, and environmental sustainability, where citizens are yearning for more innovative solutions. Using the slogan of competition and cooperation, Shen aims to preserve the independent developmental vitality of each city while establishing an institutional framework for cross-domain cooperation, ensuring that Taipei is no longer an isolated island, but rather a core node in the island-wide governance network.

From a broader macro perspective, the mention of the ocean current also reflects Taiwan's need to seek a new positioning on the international stage. Facing complex changes in cross-strait relations and the restructuring of global supply chains, Taiwan must demonstrate flexibility and innovation in its internal governance to maintain resilience under external pressure. If the city exchanges mentioned by Shen can be extended to partnerships with international cities, it will help introduce advanced technologies, elevate the international vision of urban governance, and simultaneously form multi-layered interactive networks in diplomacy. This governance mindset of internal strengthening and external engagement is precisely the direction currently advocated by many scholars and policymakers.

Finally, Shen's ocean current discourse is not merely a slogan, but a concrete policy blueprint. With an institutionalized inter-city exchange platform at its core—combined with information sharing, talent mobility, and resource pooling—Taiwan's counties and cities will be able to seek cooperation amidst competition and stimulate competitiveness through cooperation, forming a virtuous cycle. For the upcoming Taipei mayoral election, such a governance vision will become an important indicator for measuring candidates' capabilities and may redefine the operational model of local politics in Taiwan. Regardless of the final outcome, the demand for governance transformation symbolized by the ocean current has already taken root in public discussion, and future policy directions are bound to attract broader attention and scrutiny.

(Source: Central News Agency)