So first of all, I'd like to express my gratitude to the Harvard Kennedy School, the Bloomberg Foundation, and the Fairbank Center for the invitation and arrangement.

Of course, I'm also flattered that I'm more appealing than tonight's Red Sox game against Baltimore Orioles.

Not everyone may be familiar with Taiwan, but we all certainly live in a world driven by TSMC technology.

Not everyone may have visited Taipei, but I'm sure we've all heard of Din Tai Fung's dumplings,

Xiaolongbao.

So Taipei is a wonderland.

You can find bubble tea for only two dollars, U.S. dollars, and you can have delicious fried chicken cooling for only three dollars in almost everywhere in Taipei.

So you will soon realize that the people in Taipei are friendly, welcoming, accepting, a spirit that has been passed down for 140 years.

Some have described the United States as a melting pot, while I believe Taipei is more like a hot pot.

So have you ever tried a hot pot for dinner before?

I believe so, huh?

So it comes with diverse ingredients and rich flavors.

Young people come of age at Confucius Temple in Taipei.

The presidential office is a baroque building left from the Japanese era.

The Dutch and Spanish once came here seeking their roots.

Southeast Asian immigrants and their second generation descendants have become an important part of Taipei's population.

And indigenous cultures are linked as far as New Zealand and Australia.

This is a city that is both traditional and innovative, eastern and western, a truly diverse metropolis.

As the mayor of this diverse and inclusive city,

I would like to share with you a photo.

So this is a cosplay photo of me as a character called Zoro from the Japanese anime One Piece, and it was taken at the Taiwan Pride 2023.

So before Taiwan became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019,

Taipei had already held our first Taiwan Pride back in 2003.

To this day, you can still see the rainbow-colored house in front of Taipei City Hall, which is a symbol of our city's pride.

A good hot pot offers you a variety of textures and flavors.

Taipei is the same.

Our friendliness and inclusiveness cultures allow individuals of different ages, genders, ethnicities, and cultures to live comfortably and to express themselves.

So if you want me to sum all of them up in one word, I would say democracy.

Democracy is the DNA of Taipei.

We continue to deepen our belief in democratic resilience, while some have described our democracy rambunctious.

But I like to think of it this way.

Democracy is like a spicy hot pot to people in Taipei.

It's not perfect, and spices may make you sweat, but you keep coming back for more.

And if you dig in for more, you'll realize there's more in it.

So we believe that democracy, freedom, and rule of law provide the bedrock for sustainable prosperity.

Through the bonds of democracy, our hot pot remains ever-fresh and never runs dry.

This way of democratic living creates many connections between Taipei and the United States.

For example, voters in Taipei often ask themselves former President Ronald Reagan's famous question,

Are you better off than you were 40 years ago?

As mayor of Taipei, I have been impressed by former President Obama's view that there's not a liberal America and a conservative America.

There is the United States of America.

This spirit is also a cross-party consensus within Taipei and the foundation of policy discussions.

We may debate intensely, but we always move forward together.

This is our robust democracy.

The strong cultural ties between Taipei and the U.S. are evident everywhere.

Roosevelt Road, which connects many key official institutions in a national Taiwan university, is named in honor of President Franklin Roosevelt.

The MacArthur Bridge connecting Taipei with nearby Kuala Lumpur City commemorates General Douglas MacArthur,

The former residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Taiwan has become

SPA, Taipei Film House, an arts and cultural hub showcasing international cultural works.

The former vacation retreat of the U.S. 7th Fleet commander is now the Jingguo Qihai Cultural Park.

Since I became the mayor, Taipei has more connections with Harvard.

But this year, the Harvard World Model United Nations was held in Taipei.

And we also welcome two out-of-state Harvard students to intern at the newly established Department for Youth of Taipei City Government.

And I know Juliet and Isabel are here tonight.

Would you like to stand up and say hi to everyone?

So how was your experience in Taipei this summer?

Fantastic.

Fantastic. We heard it.

Before coming to Harvard today, I also had a chance to meet with Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston City.

Her parents were both born and raised in Taipei.

As a father of three, I presented her with a commemorative card from Taipei Parent-Child Center.

We talked about how to build a family-friendly city and also compared notes on how to build a resilient city for our future generations.

Whether it's in response to natural disasters, extreme weather, or everyday risks, we invest significantly in reinforcing Taipei's resilience and safety.

A concrete example was the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan on April 3rd this year.

It's the most severe one in nearly 25 years.

On that day, within five minutes, my team and I were all mobilized and prepared to respond.

Even though the earthquake struck right during rush hour in Taipei, wherever the mayor is, it is where the Emergency Operations Center is.

This incident highlights a common challenge faced by all cities, aging infrastructure.

Let me share with you.

Over 72% of Taipei's buildings are over 30 years old.

There was a research report indicating that if a magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes directly in Taipei, more than 4,900 buildings would collapse.

Earthquakes strike without warning.

So urban renewal is essential for enhancing resilience.

So since last year, we've rolled out eight urban renewal policies, including an incentive manual called Disaster Resilient Urban Renewal that offers a 30% bonus floor area ratio for buildings that meet criteria in four design areas, earthquake resistance, green building, smart building, and accessibility.

We hope this will encourage public participation in urban renewal and lead Taipei toward our deal goals of achieving net zero emissions and becoming a safer city by 2050.

Another example I would like to share with you is Taipei's original drainage design.

Only handle heavy rains of less than 78.8 millimeters per hour.

It has become gradually unable to cope with heavy rains in extreme climates.

After thorough research and discussion, I made a decision to allocate $200 million over the next five years for flood control projects.

This will increase the city's rainfall tolerance by 13%, amounting to 88.8 millimeters per hour.

We also focus on disaster prevention education, enhancing both the physical and mental resilience of the city.

In addition, I believe that every great city is measured by how well it treats its pedestrians through coordinated efforts across departments.

We have designated this year as the Taipei's year of traffic safety, aiming to reduce traffic fatalities by 10%.

One little example is the redesign of the traffic markings outside a baseball stadium in Taipei.

As you can see in the pictures, the green pedestrian area and the organized traffic flow lanes have significantly improved pedestrian safety, and this has earned the local positive feedback at the Nippon Picasso Markings.

Speaking of Picasso, while he may be seen by many of his time as too futuristic,

Taipei aims to be a future-oriented city.

We are fully committed to making Taipei an AI-driven smart city.

92% of the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity is located in Taiwan.

Beyond our critical role in the AI supply chain,

Taipei gathers the best talent from across Taiwan, which is why AI giants like NVIDIA, AMD were drawn here.

And just yesterday, we released the AI operational guidelines, marking a key step in integrating AI into municipal governance in Taipei.

Taipei is the first city in Taiwan to have our own AI policy.

Civil servants will now have clear guidelines to assess whether the use of

AI complies with risk regulations, thereby creating an encouraging environment for more innovation.

Take the 1999 Taipei City Service Hotline, for example.

It's similar to Boston's 311.

The team of operators is always ready to answer calls, look up information, and respond to all kinds of questions and needs from citizens.

But even the most experienced operators will need time to look up specific details, like the garbage collection schedule for a particular neighborhood, which can waste time for both the operator and the caller.

So starting this October, we're rolling out a new service that uses generative AI combined with the city government's database.

When a citizen calls, AI will automatically recognize the speech, search for the answer, and provide the operator with accurate information in real time.

This will save time for both sides and improve service quality and efficiency.

To summarize, I believe everyone has already recognized AI's presence in

Taipei.

I mean, AI is in Taipei.

T-A-I-P-E-I.

Well, last but not least, I would like to talk about Taipei's role as a bridge, bridging heritage and innovation.

I'm a native-born Taiwanese, and I have been fortunate to be shaped by both eastern and western education systems.

My cultural roots taught me to respect our history and draw wisdom from it.

My journey to the west has taught me to integrate my heritage into the process of innovation and create better Taipei for our future generations.

During my 10 years in the U.S., three years for law school and seven years working at a law firm, I experienced a diverse and enriching life.

I earned my J.D. at Terrell Law, worked at a law firm in Sikang Valley, even managed to get laid off during the subprime mortgage crisis.

It is true.

And ultimately, started my own company.

These experiences have been invaluable and have deeply shaped who I am today.

As a public servant, whether as a legislator between 2016 and 2022, or now as the mayor of Taipei, I draw on this wide-ranging perspective to tackle challenges.

My experiences have equipped me with a broader vision, a diversity of perspectives, and innovative thinking.

I firmly believe in the power of inclusive governance, which brings together diverse talents and resources.

More importantly, it empowers us towards a resilient leadership to address issues such as declining birth rates, aging urban infrastructure, and extreme climates.

I will continue to uphold this belief in bridging tradition and innovation, leading Taipei to strengthen its diversity, democracy, and resilience.