Taipei City Government

After the mayor of Taipei’s sister-city Phoenix departed Taiwan last week, the city government welcomed a delegation consisting of expat leaders from Phoenix on the morning of October 28. Mayor Ko Wen-je personally received the delegation.

During his speech, Mayor Ko commented that he had just received the Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and her delegation. Mayor Gallego is the youngest mayor of any major American city in history. Additionally, Taipei City has held a sister city relationship with Phoenix for the last 4 decades, and both cities have engaged in frequent interactions in city administration-related fields such as education, culture, and disaster prevention. For instance, numerous senior high schools in both cities have become sister schools, while the International Youth Ambassadors Exchange Program is also held every year. Moreover, the Taipei Summer Camp is regularly conducted in Phoenix, introducing Taiwan’s culture to local school children and residents.

According to expat delegation representative Yu Wen-tse from Phoenix, when both cities forged the sister city bond 40 years ago, his older brother was one of the delegation members. The visiting delegation consists of 29 delegates, including 4 expat military retirees; he thanked the Taipei City Government for the warm hospitality and hopes to continue facilitating interactions between the 2 cities in order to uphold the bilateral relationship. Deputy delegation representative Donald Mui is the President of the Chinese Restaurant Association of Arizona, and he extended his welcome to Chinese restaurant owners in Taipei City to visit Phoenix on behalf of the local Chinese restaurants in order to elevate the diversity of local Chinese cuisine.

Expat delegation secretary Kao Chih-chung explained to Mayor Ko that the state of Arizona has always supported the ROC, and both former Senator Barry Goldwater and incumbent Senator John McCain are supporters of Taiwan, and that is why after the US cut ties with Taiwan on January 1, 1979, Taipei City and Phoenix immediately became sister cities on March 13 of the same year.

Kao suggested that the World Hip Hop Dance Championship is held in Phoenix every year, and roughly 200 contestants from Taiwan make the journey to phoenix to participate in the event. Consequently, local expats have created the “Taiwan Go! Supply Station” offering complimentary home-cooked dishes for the contestants. Kao praised Mayor Ko as someone who supports the youths and street dance development, and he will continue to root for World Hip Hop Dance Championship contestants.