Mayor Hu exchanges gifts with
Mayor Wetherington.

The team signs a sister-city
agreementerington, the Mayor
of Columbus.

Mike Gaymon, President & CEO
of Columbus' Chambers of
Commerce, discusses city-to-
city prospects with Hu.

Mayor Hu participates on a talk
radio show in Columbus.

Taichung's team visits the
Hollywood Bowl, an 18,000-
seat outdoor theater.

Mayor Hu & His Team Visit Taichung's 18th
U.S. Sister City

Words and pictures by Taichung City Goverment
Translated by Ann Lee

Journey to Columbus: The signing of our new sister city
When the entire United States was marking the 6th anniversary of 9/11, Mayor Jason Hu and his team were still busy visiting places all over the country. On day six of their journey, their stop was Columbus, Georgia.

Hu's first event, a radio interview on Newsradio 540 WDAK, went from 8 to 9 a.m. The current-events radio show was specially hosted by the station's program director, Scoot, and included a variety of speakers on the air. Mike Gaymon, President & CEO of Columbus Chambers of Commerce, discussed both cities' youthful appeal with Hu, as well as cultural and business differences, commercial and industrial developments and, of course, baseball. Their upbeat back-and-forth was full of humor and optimism; at one point Gaymon joked that Mayor Hu should forget his political career and host an American talk show instead.

After the radio show, Hu led his delegates to City Hall to meet with Columbus' mayor, Jim Wetherington and 10 city councilors. After signing a sister-city agreement, Hu was invited to give a speech to the city council. At first, Hu introduced the rising and flourishing developments of Taichung in recent years, and then expressed excitement about working together with Columbus in the future. Their proposed cooperation includes student visits, cultural and economic exchanges, as well as athletic exchanges and games; these activities will mutually benefit cultural, economic and educational developments in both cities. Mayor Wetherington and the city council supported Hu's speech enthusiastically.

Mayor Hu explained that Taichung city was the third-largest metropolis in Taiwan. Aside from having a convenient transportation system, mild climate and prosperous economy, Hu explained that the city was also an international hub consisting of diverse cultures. Hu claimed that Taichung was leading the island in cultural development and boasted that, in the last five years, the annual attendance per person in cultural events rose from 4.1 to 29. For economic development, Hu told the council about the new Science Park, which has brought in around 80 reputable investing companies in the last five years, as well as US$52.4 billion in investments and 70,000 job opportunities. With the upcoming development of the Shueinan Economic and Trade Park and Dadu Mountain Precision Science Park, there will be even more exciting production in and around the city.

Mayor Hu also noted that Taichung was city full of opportunities and that and it would cooperate with places around the world to promote economic and cultural development. Specifically, Hu noted that he wanted to promote cultural, academic, athletic and business exchanges. For example, he wants to invite local, little league teams to Taichung for friendship games, get artists to exhibit at the Dadun Fine Art Center and perform at the Jazz Music Festival, as well as bring businessmen to the Central Taiwan Science Park and Precision Science Park.

After signing the agreement, the Taichung City Symphony Orchestra performed two songs, a Taiwanese folk song, "Peach Blossom County", and the famous American tune, "Over the Rainbow". Both songs were well-received. In a press conference following the ceremony, Mayor Hu explained his desire for cooperation between Columbus and Taichung in detail to a group of local radio stations and newspapers.

Mayor Hu's impromtu speech
In the evening, Mayor Hu held a banquet, to which he invited city government officials, city councilors, the city's PR representatives, and local business representatives. During the banquet, Hu introduced a variety of construction projects in Taichung under the title of "Welcome to Taichung". During the night, the Taichung City Symphony Orchestra performed a popular Taiwanese song and the old-time hit, "You Are My Sunshine". The music created a pleasant atmosphere that lasted all evening.

The group explores Columbus
The next morning, the whole group continued on with their full schedule. Their first stop was a visit to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. There, the president of the Columbus' Chambers of Commerce gave a report with two different perspectives on inviting businesses into the city. Both the mayor and officials at the Chambers of Commerce went through a deeper discussion on investment conditions in both cities, as well as possible partnerships. President and CEO Gaymon explained that there was a classification system within the American Chamber of Commerce network, and Columbus' ranks as the only five-star Chamber of Commerce in the nation that has the impeccable ability to attract corporate investments. That being said, Gaymon expressed interested in cooperating economically with Taichung in the future.
The next item on the agenda for Taichung's visiting team was to attend an interview at Columbus State University. Frank Brown, the university's chancellor, welcomed the team and discussed the education styles and the academic systems of both cities with the mayor. Hu added that the Taichung government would push to arrange cultural, language and musical study exchanges with its new sister city, to target students during summer vacation. He also proposed that, by next summer, there would be a team of students visiting Columbus for a four-week educational program, and that students from Columbus were welcome to come to Taichung for a similar experience.

Hu meets San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders
After gaining a new sister city, the Taichung team left Columbus and made their way back to California. In that great Pacific state, Mayor Hu visited Taichung's largest city--San Diego. While there, he met with Jerry Sanders, the mayor of the sunny metropolis.
On the 14th, the team visited Mayor Sanders to discuss details about economical cooperation, sporting events and lowering crime rates in both cities. San Diego, a popular tourist destination, enjoys great weather all year long, nice beaches, and a generally high standard of living with rising real estate values. Hu also encouraged Mayor Sanders to visit Taichung personally, to really understand its prosperous industrial commercial and cultural developments, and to see potential business opportunities in the future.
On its last day in the United States, the team had an opportunity to explore San Diego for a little while. They visited Third Street in Santa Monica, and the Hollywood Bowl, an 18,000-seat, outdoor amphitheater. Third Street is a shopping paradise filled with artistic performances and lots of great dining spots, which reminded the team of WuQuan Parkway near the art museum in Taichung. Mayor Hu noted that the civil engineering of San Diego--sidewalks, pedestrian zones, and commercial/residential zoning--are lessons Taichung can learn from this beautiful, diverse city.