Chapter 17 City Exchanges
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Chapter 17 City Exchanges "Internationalization" is a crucial factor in the development of cities, and a vital strategy in city exchange activities. Through participation in foreign, cultural and educational exchanges, mayoral exchange visits, municipal administration inspection exchanges, participation in international conferences, as well as the attendance in - and the organization of - cultural, educational, tourist, sporting and every kind of activity, the City of Taipei is learning from other metropolises’ administrative successes. This learning process paves the way for Taipei to develop into a dazzling international metropolis. 263 Taipei Yearbook 2009 n the age of globalization, country boundaries have obscured progressively, highlighting Ithe significance of cities. The Taipei City Government endeavors to promote foreign exchanges, strengthens exchanges with important international cities, develops close friendships, enhances administrative experience and promotes Taipei City’s competitive edge. Part 1 City Diplomacy Taipei’s city exchange policy is characterized by a focus on mayoral exchanges, the sharing of municipal administrative experience and participation in international conferences and activities to strengthen Taipei City’s international status. The Taipei City Government is thus engaged in various city exchange activities to solidify friendships with its sister cities around the world, emphasizing exchanges in the fields of municipal construction, culture, technology and economic activities to boost the wellbeing of Taipei citizens. Taipei also takes the initiative to vie for the organizational rights of hosting international conferences, actively taking part in international activities to showcase the achievements and strengths of the Taipei City Government. 1. Exchange Visits Exchange visits by mayors strengthen the friendship between two cities, providing the visiting mayor a chance to observe and learn from the host city for future administrative reference, and promote further visits. In light of the growing importance of international marketing for cities, visiting mayors can also promote their own cities during exchange visits to attract investors and tourists. From March 11 to 22, 2009, Taipei mayor, Hau Lung-bin, was invited to lead a delegation to the American cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles Mayor Hau Lung-bin and the mayor of Seattle. and Seattle to inspect urban renewal, waterfront metropolitan construction, environmental protection, ecology, transport services and high technology constructions of these coastal cities. The mayor also paid official visits to San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Seattle mayor, Gregory Nickels, to exchange administrative experience. From June 3 to 10, the mayor attended the 53rd Venice Biennale for the opening ceremony of the Taiwan Pavilion, and tried out Venice’s vaporetto system; he also visited Florence and inspected the maintenance and reinvigoration of historic sites. From June 26 to 27, the mayor Mayor Hau Lung-bin and the mayor of Venice listen to a briefing. led a delegation to Hong Kong to host a press 264 C h a p t st e conference for the “21 Summer Deaflympics Taipei r 2009,” with ardent charity supporter, Aaron Kwok, 1 7 as the international spokesperson for this sporting C i extravaganza. The city government hoped that through t y Mr. Kwok’s relationship with Taiwan, which served him E as a springboard onto the international stage, that the x c event would propel the city to greater international h a visibility. The event was extensively covered by the n g media. In addition, the mayor used this opportunity to e make an official visit to HKSAR(Hong Kong Special s Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of Mayor Hau Lung-bin invites Aaron Kwok to assume the China) Chief Executive, Tsang Yam-kuen and other position as spokesperson for the Deaflympics. government VIPs and to inspect the site of Hong Kong’s East Asian Games stadium, "Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground" as well as the plans of the site for future administrative reference. Regarding visits from Taipei’s sister and twin cities: Between April 21 to 26, 2009, Mongolian director of the Bureau of Industry, Byambasaikhan Damdinsuren, the director of the Bureau of Tourism, Sukhbaatar Shuushingaa, and section chief of the department of International Cooperation, Batkhuu Tserenbyambaa, from Ulan Bator made an official visit to Taipei for Mayor Hau Lung-bin visits the East Asian Games stadium. cultural exchanges. The mayor of Dallas, Texas, U.S.A, Tom Leppert, governor of the American Island of Guam, Felix P. Camacho, as well as Mr. Samba Faal, mayor of Banjul, Gambia, made official visits to Taipei from April 26 to 30, May 13 to 16 and June 13 to 17, respectively, with their delegations. During their time in Taipei, apart from making official visits to Mayor Hau Lung-bin, they visited sites of city developments in Taipei. The mayor of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Roberto Salcedo, the mayor of Majuro, capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Titus W. Langrine, mayor of Panama city, Panama, Roxana Mendez de Obarrio, municipal director of Sampaloc Hospital in Manila of the Philippines, Janet Delmundo-Tan, head of the Department of Finance of Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Enkhbaatar Songino, as well as former mayor of the Japanese twin city of Yokohama, Hiroshi Nakada paid visits to Taipei City. These distinguished guests were invited to the opening ceremony of the “21st Summer Deaflympics Taipei 2009” on September 5, as well as learning about administrative developments in Taipei City. 2. Improving Relationships with Sister Cities In addition to exchange visits, Taipei also provides assistance to sister cities, thereby strengthening international friendships. In 2009, the Taipei City Government donated two reusable fire engines to Manila in the Philippines, as well as six police cars and six ambulances. The city government also donated two fire engines to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. 3. Hosting International Conferences In order to promote relationships with sister, partner, friendship cities, and members of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21), as well as promoting understanding of Taipei’s administrative 265 Taipei Yearbook 2009 work, the Taipei City Government hosted the “2009 Intelligent Cities ICT Forum Taipei” from September 22 through 23, 2009. This forum attracted the participation of Jakarta, Tokyo, the Republic of Lithuania’s Vilnius, Guam, Ulan Bator, Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, Panama, the Gold Coast and other city government representatives, as well as representatives from the American Companies, Corning Incorporated and Cisco Systems, Inc. 4. Active Participation in International Activities In order to strengthen Taipei’s multilateral relationships with the world’s major cities and improve her international status, the Taipei City Government actively participates in international activities and conferences by international city organizations. In 2009, the Taipei City Government Committee Chief Yeh Ching-yuan makes a visit to sent representatives to the international conferences and Yasutomo Suzuki, the mayor of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka in Japan. activities listed below: Deputy Secretary-general Chen Yong-ren led a group to the 2009 Xiamen (Mainland China) Marathon Competition between the 1st and 4th of January 2009, and attended the International Marathon Cities Mayoral Forum. Yeh Ching-yuan, Chairperson of Law and Regulation Commission, Taipei City Government traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal to attend from April 27 to May 1 the “United Cities and Local Governments, Asia Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC)” for the board of directors’ annual seminar. Deputy Mayor Lin Chien-yuan attended the 150th anniversary celebration of the opening of the Japanese port city of Yokohama from May 29 to 31; Commissioner Yeh Ching-yuan was in Copenhagen, Denmark between 31st of May and 6th of June for the United Cities and Local Governments conference; Commissioner Yeh Ching-yuan was also in Yokohama from September 7 to 11 for the Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Human Settlements, CITYNET Conference. Deputy Mayor Lin Chien- yuan led a group to Incheon, South Korea from September 14 to 17 to participate in the Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS). Commissioner Yeh Ching-yuan also attended the opening ceremony of the Hamamatsu International Mosaiculture 2009 (MIH2009) in Hamamatsu, Japan from September 17 to 20. Commissioner of International affairs Chen Xi-fan led a group to Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig, Germany, from October 5 to 15 to participate in the 2009 Asia-Pacific Week in Berlin. Also, from October 18 to 21, Commissioner Yeh Ching-yuan led a group to the South Korea city of Changwon for the United Cities and Local Governments-Asia Pacific Departmental Meeting and Symposium. Deputy Mayor Lee Yong-ping led a group to Shanghai from October 29 to 31 to host the opening ceremony for the Taipei Pavilion at the World Expo 2010, as well as participating in Taipei City’s overseas promotion, further promoting Taipei’s urban image in Mainland China. Commissioner of Department of Information Technology, Chang Chia-sheng, led a group to Bangkok, Thailand from November 1 to 4 to attend the 8th meeting of the Asian Network of Major Assistant Mayor Lin Chien-yuan takes part in the Asia Cities 21. Designated representative of Department Pacific City Summit. 266 C h a p t e of Information Technology, Zheng Yu-lin, attended the second meeting of