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Our Sister City - Xindian, Taiwan
Mayor Wolfe's Trip to Taiwan
Request from Xindian City
In September 2010 the City Council received an invitation from Xindian, Taiwan to become a Sister City. Through the annual Dragon Boat Festival, sponsored by the Tavares Rotary Club, the citizens of Tavares and representatives of Xindian have been working together for over eight years. The City Council felt that the Sister City relationship could be beneficial to both cities and voted, by Resolution, to accept the preliminary request.
The formal Resolution 2010-12, passed on October 6, 2010, endorses the invitation and City Council agreed to continue negotiations by mail and personal contact to plan a program of activities furthering the implementation of the Sister City program
Mayor's Trip to Taiwan
At the request of Xindian City, Mayor Robert Wolfe and his wife visited Taiwan on November 2 - 8, 2010. Taiwanese officials had planned a full itinerary to acquaint Mayor Wolfe with the cities of Taipei and Xindian.
Mayor Wolfe reported that the trip was very productive. His meetings with various public officials and business leaders enabled an exchange of ideas and opportunities to partner in a variety of venues. Xindian expressed interest in establishing a seaplane base in their city, and various businessmen expressed interest in investing in Tavares. Discussions also included thoughts on expansion of the current Dragon Boat Festival in Tavares, a possible exchange student program, and perhaps more visits by Taiwanese athletes and performers to local schools.
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Economic & Business
Taipei International Floral Expo was a large venue that the Mayor and his party visited several times. This event was a critical economic event for Taipei and incorporated important government officials from all over the world. The Expo itself was a typical showcase of plants and flowers from just about every country, on display and in competition with significant prizes and recognition for participants. As part of the Expo there were also several special evening events including a black tie formal dinner where the Mayor was introduced to governmental leaders from various countries.
NanKang Biotech incubation Center is a facility that specializes in scientific research in a variety of areas, including plants, animals and possible cloning.
NanKang Software Park houses the development and manufacture of various items such as IPads, IPhones and gaming systems and software. The Chinese have a very large share of worldwide software sales and lead in the manufacture of new technologies.
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Opening of Taipei International Floral Expo
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Mayor Wolfe Presents Gift of Tavares Photos to Xindian Mayor Mei-Yueh Wang
Xindian Council member, Xindian Mayor Mei-Yueh Wang, Mayor Robert Wolfe |
Governmental
The Mayor and his wife met with Mayor Mei-Yueh Wang of Xindian. While Mayor Wang spoke no English and Mayor Wolfe no Taiwanese, nevertheless, through interpreters, they had a lively discussion on the advantages of a Sister City program. Mayor Wang moved quickly to take the next step in exploring the relationship and issued a Letter of Intent, holding a formal signing ceremony on the last day of Mayor Wolfe’s visit. Following the ceremony participants celebrated with dinner and toasts to the future Sister City relationship. The Mayor of Tavares and the Mayor of Xindian shared the toasting cup, and Mayor Wolfe received the cup as a gift to bring home for display in Tavares.
Mayor Wolfe presented several small gifts to Mayor Wang, the Police Chief and the Fire Chief. In return, Mayor Wolfe received several gifts to bring back to Tavares. These included large coffee-table type books with beautiful photographs of Xindian, books on history and tourist destinations.
Also during the trip, Mayor Wolfe met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs which led to discussions on economic development and possible businesses investing in Tavares.
At the International Flora Expo the Mayor was introduced to the President of Taiwan, various Ambassadors, as well as a number of other high-ranking governmental officials from a variety of countries. |
Cultural
A visit to National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall enabled the Mayor and his party to learn more about Chinese history and how the United States and China worked together during World War II.
While in Xindian, the Mayor visited local schools. In particular, he had an opportunity to meet with the students who had performed at Tavares Middle School. The students were very excited and pleased that the Mayor took time out of his busy trip to stop by to visit them.
Mayor Wolfe and his wife frequently joined other North American officials who were also visiting Taiwan. These included Brad Woodside, Mayor of Fredericton, New Brunswick and U.S. Representative Roger W. Hunt of South Dakota, and his wife. As a group they attended a variety of events and occasionally shared the same itinerary. While they sampled a wide variety of excellent Chinese cuisine during their daily travels, they could not resist the opportunity to visit a Taiwanese McDonald’s. The Mayor reports that it was just like home! |
From left - Representative & Mrs. Roger W. Hunt, South Dakota House of Representatives; Mayor Robert Wolfe; Paul Lao, Tavares business owner who helped to organize the trip and escorted the Mayor and his traveling party. |
Taipei International Travel Fair |
Tourism
A visit to Dong Shan River Park in Yilan County enabled Mayor Wolfe to meet with the city’s Vice-Mayor. The River Park had many similarities to our waterfront here in Tavares and the Mayor and Vice-Mayor discussed comparable development challenges.
Taipei International Travel Fair incorporated 1,200 booths representing countries from around the world. Travel and tourism is a very large industry in Taiwan that generates millions of dollars each year. The Travel Fair is an opportunity for travel agents and government representatives from many countries to promote their cities as tourist destinations. Over 15,000 people visited the travel fair each day. |
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