New Taipei City Mayor Rolls Out City Diplomacy, Visits Yokohama
New Taipei City Mayor Rolls Out City Diplomacy, Visits Yokohama
Yokohama, March 2 - New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu visited Japanese port city Yokohama on Friday, and talked with Mayor Fumiko Hayashi on ways to enhance relations between the two cities.
The two agreed to further explore cooperation opportunities on education, the environment, transportation and industrial development.
After holding a business recruitment seminar earlier in Tokyo, Chu turned his focus to promoting better ties with peer cities. Chu and the delegation received a warm welcome from the Yokohama city government.
Before New Taipei City was upgraded to its current status as a cabinet city level in 2010, then Taipei County maintained close relations with Japan""s Kanagawa Prefecture, where Yokohama is located. Chu said he hoped his visit would promote continued strong ties between these two port cities.
New Taipei City and Yokohama""s shared history goes beyond their maritime roots. Both are also the hubs of each country""s Information and Communications Technology industry. In addition, both have earned the reputation for being environmentally conscious cities.
With the one year anniversary of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis drawing closer, Hayashi also took the opportunity to express her deep gratitude towards the Taiwanese people for their generous donations after the crisis.
Hayashi, who was chairman of Japan’s major supermarket chain Daiei before becoming Yokohama Mayor in 2009, said she had very much enjoyed her visits to Taiwan when she was in the corporate sector.
Chu invited Hayashi for a visit in the near future to further improve mutual understanding.
After a fruitful mission to Japan, Chu and the New Taipei City delegation were due to return to Taiwan on Saturday. Chu said he expects to continue promoting “city diplomacy” in the future, with possible destinations including Singapore, the United States and Europe.
