Scandinavian delegates witness the sustainable practices of New Taipei City.(From left: Mr. Yao Ching-Yu, Director General, Secretariat of New Taipei City; Mr. Mikko Karppinen, representative of Finland's Commercial Office; Mr. Hou, Yu-Ih, Mayor of New Taipei City; Mr. Peter Sand, Director of the Trade Council of Denmark, Mr. Bengt Carlsson, representative of The Swedish Trade & Invest Council, Taipei Office)

In addition to the solid foundations of exchanges based on economic, cultural, and educational issues, city diplomacy affords important opportunities to open dialogue through the creative use of "sustainability values" in New Taipei City. Mayor Hou, Yu-Ih said that SDGs are an important blueprint for governance and provide a common global language. In 2019, New Taipei City published the first VLR in Taiwan and the tenth in the world. The following year, New Taipei City was invited to the 10th World Urban Forum (WUF 10) of the United Nations, and was the only city invited to sign the New York VLR Declaration, joining Los Angeles, Barcelona and twenty cities around the world in realizing the SDGs. The Declaration has been signed by 68 international cities and echoed by over 300 municipalities. On the day the second VLR was released in 2021, it was featured at the United Nations COP26 Forum and received enthusiastic responses from nearly 100 online participants from various countries. New Taipei City continues to make friends with the world through sustainability issues, and Mayor Hou, Yu-Ih emphasizes the importance of not only keeping up with global trends, but also having the confidence to work with international cities and let the world get to know New Taipei City and see Taiwan.


Hou, Yu-Ih shared with Singaporean youths about VLR, sustainable energy, economy and citizen's livelihoods at the "2023 A Meeting with the Mayor - Green Blueprint New Innovation Night".

Yao Ching-Yu, Director General of the Secretariat of New Taipei City, said that the city has always relied on the SDGs to connect with the global community and has never interrupted international exchanges due to the epidemic, reaching out a helping hand to international cities even in the hardest of times, to realize the SDGs spirit of Leaving no one behind. As a result of New Taipei City's insistence on sustainable practices and dialogue, the city has hosted and participated in 194 online and physical international forums since the outbreak of the epidemic until April of this year, and has interacted with over 300 international cities, reaching more than 13,000 people. Through cross-border VLR communication with international partners such as the U.S., Scandinavia, and Japan, New Taipei City has not only affirmed each other's sustainable thinking practices, but has also become a good partner on the road to sustainability.



On World Earth Day in 2021, Mayor Hou, Yu-Ih linked up with international organizations such as New York City, Boston City Hall, and the MIT Media Lab, with special video support from then New York City International Affairs Director Ms. Penny Abeywardena (pictured right).

In addition to the online forum, we also sent VLRs to more than 40 major libraries around the world so that people around the world can not only learn about New Taipei City, but also see the city's industrious efforts to build a sustainable city. This year, as the epidemic lifted, the Mayor and city staff took the VLR to Singapore, New York, Boston, Nepal, and other countries and cities to exchange sustainability strategies. Everyone was very interested in how New Taipei City is implementing SDGs policies. In the process, we not only successfully conveyed our sustainability philosophy, but also created possibilities for future cooperation. New Taipei strives to implement the global trend towards sustainability, acting as a pioneer domestically to drive the release of VLR in all counties and cities, and continuing reaching abroad to make friends internationally with concrete experience in sustainable urban governance.



Mayor Hou Yu-Ih and officials from 19 San Francisco Bay Area cities and civic groups held a forum on "New Taipei City． A New Normal: The Road to Reboot in the Post-Epidemic Era".(Left: New Taipei City Mayor Hou, Yu-Ih and right: San Francisco Mayor's Office Director Mark Chandler.)

New Taipei City Hall published the 2019 and 2021 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Voluntary Local Review Reports, and has won a series of major domestic and international awards, including the iF Design Award in Germany for the second year in a row and the TCSA Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award-Platinum Award, which is known as the Oscar of sustainability in Taiwan. In 2022, it won the Good Design Award, Japan's most historic and prestigious design award, and received the first G Mark certification for the city, as well as the Golden Pin Design Award, one of the most credible design awards in Asia.



The New Taipei City Secretariat brought the VLR and the New Taipei City Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 1st City Report to Boston City Hall to share New Taipei's sustainability philosophy.(From left to right: Dr. Lin Chia-Liang from the MIT Media Lab, New Taipei City Government colleague Liu Yun-Hsuan, Ph.D. candidate Hsu Hui-Jen from the MIT Urban Studies and Planning program, Ms. Tiffany Chu, Chief of Staff for the Boston Mayor, New Taipei City Secretariat Director-General Jao Ching-Yu, International Partner Relations Manager Mr. James Reginald Colimon, Immigration Affairs Strategy Communication Manager Ms. Pai En Yu, and New Taipei City Government colleague PENG, Yi-Pin.)

＊Information on the Secretariat's award-winning sustainable works:

New Taipei City "2019 Voluntary Local Review Report”
2021 iF DESIGN AWARD, Germany
2021 TCSA Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Gold Award

New Taipei City "2021 Voluntary Local Review Report”
2022 Golden Pin Design Award for Best Design of the Year in Communication Design
2022 Japan G Mark Media Content Medal
2022 TCSA Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Platinum Award
2022 Taiwan Design BEST100 Design of the Year
2023 iF Communication Design Award, Germany

Comma lab, City Hall Office Space
2020 TID Taiwan Interior Design Jury Special Award
2021 Architizer A+Awards Most Popular Award for Government Buildings, USA
2021 Red Dot Award for Branding and Communication, Germany

City Hall Gender-Friendly Restroom
2022 New Taipei City Gender-Friendly Restroom Seal
2022 TSAA Silver Award for Sustainable Action in Taiwan
2022 APSAA Asia Pacific Bronze Award for Sustainable Action
2023 The 21st Chin Hsin Golden Heart Award for Gender Equality Innovation, Executive Yuan


City Hall Administration Building Smart Energy Saving Transformation
2019 Ministry of Economic Affairs Energy Saving Benchmark Award - Gold Award
"Renovation Gold Award" in the 2019 TIBA AWARDS Intelligent Green Building and System Product Awards
"Renovation Platinum Award" in the 2022 APIGBA Asia-Pacific Region's Intelligent Green Building and System Product Awards


Competent Authority: Secretariat