City Diplomacy Success: Visiting our sister cities in the United States

Words and photos by Taichung City Government
Translated by Naomi Lai

A delegation of Taichung city government officials, led by Mayor Jason Hu, embarked on a tour of three sister cities--Austin, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Reno City, Nevada--on Jan. 11. Aside from visits to these cities, the delegation also attended the opening ceremony of the "Taichung City Da Dun Cultural Exchange Exhibition" at the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, Texas, and visited the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans, to observe and understand the development of a unique city culture and the management of tourism resources.

The delegation meets with
Mayor Lee Leffingwell of the
City of Austin

Welcome Banquet held by the
Austin-Taichung Sister Cities
Committee

Austin-Taichung Sister Cities
Committee Chairman Steven
Yau (1st left), City of Austin
Mayor Leffingwell (2nd left)
and Houston Taipei Economic
& Cultural Office Director Chen
Fong-cheng (1st right) and
Mayor Hu.

"Taichung Shining Big Band"
performance

City of Austin, Texas: New connections through diverse exchanges
Newly-appointed Mayor Lee Leffingwell met the Taichung city government delegation at the city hall of the City of Austin, Texas. Mayor Hu gave Leffingwell a brief introduction to Taichung's excellent investment environment and spectacular performance in high-technology developments. The two participating Taichung city council members, Huang Hsing-hwi and Hong Jia-hong, also exchanged their experiences in different methods of city administration supervision and management. During the meeting, Mayor Leffingwell mentioned his links to Asia in earlier years when, as a U.S. serviceman in the Vietnam War, his flights back to the United States transitted through Taiwan. However, he has yet to spend time in Taiwan. Upon hearing this, Mayor Hu immediately extended an invitation, welcoming Mayor Leffingwell to visit Taichung any time.

The Taichung City Cultural Affairs Bureau also held a calligraphy art demonstration in the great hall of the Austin City Hall, during which Mayor Hu interacted personally with local visitors and accepted interviews from local print and digital media groups. In the afternoon, the delegation visited the main campus of the University of Texas at Austin and looked into possible future exchanges.

Left: Calligraphy demonstrations at the Austin Cty Hall were given by the Taichung City Culture Affairs Bureau.
Right: Mayor Hu acceps interviews from local media.

During an evening welcome banquet, the Austin mayor welcomed his guests more than once in Chinese. He further expressed his hospitality and heartfelt interest in promoting relations between the two cities with the presentation of an Honorary Citizen Certificate to each of the delegates from Taichung, which has been a sister city with Austin for 24 years. Mayor Hu joked, "It's not that we don't care. We waited this long to meet because we wanted to save the best for the last." The banquet ended with a performance by the "Taichung Shining Big Band", a saxophone ensemble composed of two Taichung city council members and two government directors. While they might not have been the best musicians, they did perform with sincerity the well-known Chinese song "Kao Shang Chin", no doubt reminding homesick Taiwanese expatriates at the banquet of home.

Left: Mayor Hu presents Mayor Leffingwell with calligraphy by a famous artist.
Right: Mayor Hu presents Mayor Leffingwell with an artistic clay cup.

Baton Rouge Mayor Holden
presents the Key to the City to
Mayor Hu.

Mayor Holden and his wife (left
1rst, 2nd), the Baton Rouge
Center for World Affairs
president Ms. Monika Olivier
(1st right) and Mayor Hu during
the welcome banquet.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Continuing an old friendship in a new land.
Baton Rouge City Mayor-President Melvin "Kip" Holden visited Mayor Hu back in 2005 and has formed a close bond with the city. Although it was a weekend when the Taichung delegation arrived in Baton Rouge, the city government still arranged several activities for the delegation. Mayor-President Holden and his wife met with Mayor Hu and the delegation at their hotel to exchange city administration experiences, catch up on recent events, reconfirm the deep friendship between the two cities and express the mutual desire to further promote exchanges, especially in trade.

Mayor Hu also expressed his admiration for the accomplishments of Mayor-President Holden's administration. Under Holden's guidance, Baton Rouge is now the fastest-developing city in the United States, and he garnered over 70% of votes because of this success. Thus, Taichung can gain a lot from the sharing of experiences. In the evening, the Baton Rouge city government arranged a welcoming reception at the home of local Taiwanese-American community leader Mr. John Hu. Participants included Baton Rouge city government officials and various representatives of the Taiwanese-American community. Mayor-President Holden even designated the delegation's arrival date--Jan. 17--as the Jason Hu's Day, a memorial day for the city as a symbol of his respect for Hu and the strong friendship between the two cities. The following day Mayor Hu met with the Baton Rouge Center for World Affairs president Ms. Monika Olivier and Mr. John Hu to exchange information and discuss future cooperative opportunities.

Left: Baton Rouge Mayor Holden meets with Mayor Hu.
Right: Mayor Holden and his wife visit the delegation.

Various welcome posters in
Chinese and flags of the
Republic of China decorate the
Reno-Tahoe International
Airport, welcoming the
delegation.

Mayor Bob Cashell of Reno City
and State Senator William
Raggio welcomes the
delegation at the airport.

Reno City, Nevada: Just like old friends.
Reno City, in northern Nevada, took the visit by their long-lost sister city very seriously. Both city Mayor Bob Cashell and Taiwan's long time supporter, Minority Floor Leader, State Senator William Raggio, arrived at the airport to personally welcome the Taichung delegation. Various welcoming posters written in Chinese and flags of the Republic of China decorated the airport. After arriving, the delegation visited the Reno City city hall, city council and several trade officials to conduct discussions and exchange information. Mayor Cashell also gave the delegation a personal tour of his office and the council hall. In the evening, Cashell and Raggio hosted a welcoming banquet and invited local political, business and immigrant leaders to meet with the delegation. During the banquet, Mayor Hu gave a speech, stating, "It is a very exciting thing to be able to get back in touch with our sister. Though we have just met, it feels like we have always been old friends. Our mutual emotions are far more than sisters and brothers. Would you marry me?" Mayor Cashell immediately replied, "We would!" Mayor Hu also extended an invitation, welcoming Mayor Cashell to visit Taichung.

Left: Mayor Cashell gives the delegation a personal tour of his office.
Right: Mayor Cashell and State Senator William Raggio invite local political, business and immigrant leaders to the welcoming banquet for the delegation.

The "Taichung City Da Dun
nCultural Exchange Exhibition"
held at the Institute of Texan
Cultures in San Antonio, Texas.

San Antonio, Texas: Success in cultural diplomacy
Other than enhancing the relationships with Taichung's sister cities, the delegation also worked to open new exchanges with other cities. The opening ceremony for the "Taichung City Da Dun Cultural Exchange Exhibition", hosted by the Taichung City Culture Affairs Bureau at the Institute of Texan Cultures, took place on Jan. 14, and invited local Taiwanese-American, academic and artistic leaders to the event. The exhibition will last 45 days, displaying 107 works of art by Taichung artists. University of Texas at San Antonio President Mr. Ricardo Romo, Taiwanese-American City Councilor Ms. Elisa Chan, Houston Taipei Economic & Cultural Office Director Mr. Chen Fong-cheng and Mayor Hu each gave a speech. Mayor Hu notably described Taichung's recent cultural developments, success and future vision. On the following day, the delegation had lunch with the San Antonio city mayor, Julian Castro, and shared their positive perspectives on future interactions between the two cities.

Left: Mayor Hu meets Mayor Castro of San Antonio.
Right: Lunch with Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio.

The streets of the French
Quarters in New Orleans,
Lousiana

New Orleans, Louisiana: The birthplace of jazz
On the way to Baton Rouge, the delegation also visited the birthplace of jazz--New Orleans. New Orleans is a well-developed city with various tourist attractions and has had hosted many large international conventions. Every year the famous Mardi Gras Festival in February attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city. Today, following reconstruction from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is once again embracing tourists with its splendid festivals and cultural heritage. As the Taichung Jazz Festival is now in its seventh year, delegation members felt that they learned a lot from observing New Orleans' methods of managing their unique cultural background as an important asset in tourism.

Left: Street performances in New Orleans.
Right: Jazz performances in New Orleans.

Exchanging experiences and boosting friendships by visiting sister cities.
Over recent years, Taichung has been more aggressive in promoting city diplomacy, increasing its interactions and communications with sister cities and re-connecting with lost sister cities. As Mayor Hu notes, the relationship with sister cities shouldn't stop after the connection is made, as it takes effort to interact and get to know each other better. Sister cities need to exchange information and benefit one another. Mayor Hu also invites all sister cities to visit Taichung.