In February 2020, Mayor Hou Yu-Ih responded to the invitation from New York City and, during a city affair meeting, personally signed the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Declaration launched by New York City. Accordingly, New Taipei City became the only city in Taiwan that received the invitation to sign this declaration.
 

Mayor Hou stated that New Taipei City must keep up with international trends while doing what is best for its citizens. The city must also demonstrate confidence in collaborating and competing with other international cities. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were proposed by the United Nations, the headquarters of which is located in New York City. The first VLR report was also published by New York City. Therefore, Mayor Hou believes that New Taipei City’s progress toward the SDGs must align with those of New York City and the United Nations, and that New Taipei City should collaborate with every partner to promote these goals.
 

The Office of the Mayor of New York City also created a Facebook video post detailing the unboxing of the VLR report composed by New Taipei City. The video showcased a hardcover edition of the VLR report, which contains a description card, the report itself, and a set of toy bricks printed with the 17 SDG icons. The video also demonstrated the use of these bricks to construct a structure, which symbolizes the establishment of an ideal city under the SDG framework. The video post stated that “It’s not every day that we get to do an unboxing video…and New Taipei City just raised the bar!...Thanks to the New Taipei City Government and Mayor Hou Yu-Ih for joining us in the Voluntary Local Review movement—and showing we can have fun along the way” (https://www.facebook.com/NYCMayorsInternationalAffairs/videos/440838143468627/).
 

In February 2020, the New Taipei City Government was invited to participate in the 10th World Urban Forum hosted in Abu Dhabi. During the forum,
 

the Secretariat Director General Yao Ching-Yu, who attended the forum on behalf of New Taipei City, and Penny Abeywardena, New York City’s Commissioner for International Affairs, gave speeches. After the forum, representatives from New York City voluntarily provided a printed copy of the VLR declaration form and expressed their wish for Mayor Hou to sign the declaration.

Competent Authority: Secretariat