Wanhe Temple Chairman Hsiao
Ching-chieh welcomes the City
of Austin delegation.

Mayor Hu presents
Representative Elliott
Naishtat of Texas with
honorary citizenship.

Mayor Hu presents City of
Austin Mayor H.E. Lee
Leffingwell with honorary
citizenship.

The Austin Delegation at
Wanhe Temple.

The Austin Delegation visits
the Central Taiwan Science
Park and is given an introduction by Director Chen
Ming-huan of the park's
investment services division.

The City of Austin Delegation
at the Taichung City Council
(Mayor Leffingwell on left,
Representative Naishtat on
the right).

Mr. Billy Webb, Chair of Austin
Sister Cities International,
writes Chinese calligraphy
under instruction from Hui-wen
High School students.

Sister-city visits solidify friendships with Taichung and initiate new exchanges: Return visits by City of Austin Mayor and City of San Antonio Cultural Affairs Director

Words and photos by Taichung City Government
Translated by Naomi Lai

Taichung City has maintained close contact with its sister cities in recent years and Mayor Jason Hu visited several U.S. sister cities in January with a delegation from the Taichung City Government. In return, City of Austin Mayor H.E. Lee Leffingwell and City of San Antonio Cultural Affairs Director Felix Padron visited Taichung in April and May, respectively, resulting in a new round of very successful inter-city diplomacy.

For years the Austin-Taichung Sister Cities Committee (ATSC) has been pushing for more interaction between the two cities. This year, thanks to the efforts of committee Chairman Steven Yau and various committee members, Austin Mayor H.E. Lee Leffingwell and Texas Representative Elliott Naishtat were able to visit Taiwan. Their tour of this city was organized by the Taichung City Government and accompanied by Taichung City Council members Huang Hsin-hui and Huang Chia-hung. The delegation visited various locations, such as Taichung City Hall, Taichung City Council, Park Lane by CMP shopping mall, Fengchia Night Market, Wanhe Temple, Central Taiwan Science Park, and Taichung Municipal Hui-wen High School. In the evening, Mayor Hu also hosted a dinner banquet to welcome these honored guests.
Mayor Hu received his sister-city guests at City Hall and during the meeting said that although the delegation was not staying very long, he still hoped that they would have a chance to understand more about Taichung and industrial developments such as the Central Taiwan Science Park. He also talked about construction of Taichung's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in the near future and how it would greatly benefit local citizens. At the meeting's conclusion, he presented Mayor Leffingwell and Representative Naishtat with honorary citizenship, as both parties exchanged presents and expressed sentiments regarding the unchanging mutual friendship between their cities.

The greenery-covered walls at Park Lane by CMP, noisy Fengchia Night Market, historic Wanhe Temple, industry-related introduction to the Central Taiwan Science Park, and enthusiastic welcome by from the faculty and students of Taichung Municipal Hui-wen High School all made a deep impression on delegation members who, after only two days in the city, expressed their wish to visit Taichung again and explore what they had missed.

Especially noteworthy is the fact that Taichung Municipal Hui-wen High School has a language exchange program with the City of Austin. During local students' visits to that city, they were well taken care of by the City of Austin government and Austin-Taichung Sister Cities Committee. During the visit to Taichung of these old friends, the students prepared special performances for their guests and taught the delegation to write the Chinese characters for "Hui-wen" in Chinese calligraphy as a souvenir for the school.

In early May, City of San Antonio Cultural Affairs Director Felix Padron also visited Taiwan under an invitation from the Council for Cultural Affairs to discuss preparations for a special Taiwan-themed exhibition that will be held in San Antonio next year to celebrate the Republic of China's centennial. This past January, the Taichung City Cultural Affairs Bureau held the "Taichung City Da Dun Cultural Exchange Exhibition" at the Institute of Texan Cultures. Thus, when Director Padron arrived, he made a special visit to Taichung accompanied by OCAC Commissioner James Hu and officers from the Council for Cultural Affairs. Mayor Hu arranged a welcome banquet and expressed his hopes of developing more diverse and concrete exchanges with the City of San Antonio.

Such visitations can foster better understanding between two sides, while real interaction and exchanges offer mutual benefit. In such ways, the world can not only better understand Taichung City's rapid progress, but also appreciate the growing strength of Taiwan as a whole.

Left: Taichung Municipal Hui-wen High School Principal Liu Chin-min and PTA Chairman Lee Ming-chang welcome the delegation at their school's front gate.
Right: Mayor Leffingwell writes Chinese calligraphy at Hui-wen High School.

Left: Representative Naishtat writes Chinese calligraphy with instructions from Taichung Municipal Hui-wen High School students.
Right: Austin Mayor Leffingwell with the Hui-wen High School Chinese band.

Left: The City of Austin Delegation meets with the City Council Deputy Speaker Chen Tian-Wen.
Right: Mayor Hu welcomes the delegation at the dinner banquet.

Left: Mayor Hu at the welcome banquet for the City of San Antonio Cultural Affairs Director Felix Padron.
Right: Mayor Hu, his wife and the Austin-Taichung Sister Cities Committee Chairman.